Jasper Helder Quoted in CDR Story on International Sanctions Regimes
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Commercial Dispute Resolution has quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Jasper Helder in the article “Sanctions de-mystified,” which reports on a recent panel discussion, in which he participated, about various international sanctions regimes.
Helder talked about the European Union, where, he said, enforcement takes place on a national level with each jurisdiction issuing its own guidance. He noted that enforcement “against corporates is not nearly as public as in the U.S., and to a large extent does not occur in the criminal realm.” Most criminal investigations, he added, tend to be settled with national authorities with “a lot going on under the water that you don’t see. Financial settlements can nonetheless be substantial, running into six or even seven figures in some cases.”
On the topic of Iran and whether the nuclear deal has changed anything after one year in place, particularly since U.S. primary sanctions remain in effect, Helder explained that U.S. law often had an indirect influence on European business. Wording in sanctions clauses often deterred financial institutions from negotiating arrangements, he said, while many European institutions raise capital in the United States by means falling under U.S. sanctions law.
