Following publication of the cross-government review of sanctions in May 2025, we are committing to making compliance easier for UK industry, deterring non-compliance, and making sure we have the right powers and capabilities to enforce breaches. For example, we published guidance in January 2025 for UK businesses on Countering Russian sanctions evasion which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countering-russian-sanctions-evasion-and-circumvention/countering-russian-sanctions-evasion-guidance-for-exporters.

Furthermore, we have launched a sanctions hub signposting essential UK sanctions content, an enforcement page highlighting outcomes and key compliance lessons, a starter guide for UK sanctions and a navigation tool to report suspected breaches.

The UK’s financial sanctions regime places stringent restrictions on the financial activities of individuals who have been designated under sanctions. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), alongside law enforcement partners, takes a proactive approach to investigating suspected breaches of these sanctions. Where there are indications of other forms of criminality, OFSI shares information with relevant authorities to enable further investigation and enforcement. OFSI regularly publishes details of all its activities in an Annual Review for each financial year, information for 24-25 will be available soon.

The government is committed to preventing sanctioned individuals from misusing trusts to conceal their identities and assets. To this end, we have strengthened the transparency of the beneficial ownership of trusts through our various registers, including our world-leading People with Significant Control (PSC) register, our Trust Registration Service (TRS), and the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE). As of 1 September 2025, any individual can apply to Companies House for disclosure of trust information held on the ROE.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) continues to enhance its implementation and enforcement capabilities. OFSI has opened a record number of investigations this year, reflecting a commitment to robust financial sanctions enforcement. In 2025 OFSI also published a series of reports assessing sectoral threats and vulnerabilities relating to financial sanctions, including a Legal Services Threat Assessment, to help industry implement sanctions where trusts are being misused.

In response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK has imposed robust sanctions designed to disrupt funding streams to the Russian regime and prevent those supporting it from benefiting from UK services. Under the UK’s trust services sanctions, trust services must not be provided to or for the benefit of designated persons. Since 16 December 2022, it is also prohibited to provide new trust services to or for the benefit of persons connected with Russia.

For the Legal Services Threat Assessment Report, click here: OFSI_Legal_Services_Threat_Assessment.pdf

In April, OFSI released a Property Threat Assessment Report. The report identifies key evasion threats, red flags that businesses should be aware of, and observations on areas where compliance could be strengthened.

For the Threat Assessment Report, click here: OFSI_Property_and_Related_Services_Threat_Assessment.pdf

OFSI also has specific guidance for letting agents. This guidance helps to facilitate OFSI’s aim of encouraging better sanctions compliance, raising impacted businesses’ awareness of their sanctions obligations, and assisting OFSI in identifying potential circumvention gaps and financial sanctions breaches. For OFSI’s letting agents guidance, click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-guidance-for-letting-agents/financial-sanctions-guidance-for-letting-agents

Since 2022, OFSI has significantly increased its headcount and capability, including procuring leading tools and training, which means OFSI is able to undertake proactive, intelligence-led sanctions enforcement.

OFSI has not made an estimate for the information requested but robustly enforces UK sanctions where breaches are identified. OFSI imposed a penalty in September 2024 against a firm for breaches of Russia sanctions relating to property management.

Through OFSI’s enhanced capabilities and increased collaboration between government agencies, OFSI is able identify breaches proactively and is not reliant on self-reported breaches.

Since February 2022, just over 1% of all suspected breach reports submitted to OFSI were reported by property and related services firms. Meanwhile, 7% of all suspected breaches reported to OFSI by other types of firms involved property and related services firms in some capacity.

OFSI is taking concrete action to increase sanctions awareness within the sector, through direct engagement with the sector and publication of its Threat Assessment Report and guidance for letting agents.

For the Threat Assessment Report, click here: OFSI_Property_and_Related_Services_Threat_Assessment.pdf

For OFSI’s letting agents guidance, click here: Financial sanctions guidance for letting agents - GOV.UK

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

We continue to work with international partners to hold Iran accountable for its unacceptable human rights record. At the 55th Human Rights Council session, the UK was on the core group for the Iran human rights resolution, which successfully renewed the mandates of the Special Rapporteur and the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran human rights, enabling continued monitoring of abuses against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities, as well as freedom of expression. We continue to engage with UK-based and international organisations on human rights, including Iranian diaspora organisations. In October 2023, the former Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon hosted a roundtable with women's rights activists, joining them publicly in calling for an end to impunity and violence. Since October 2022, we have sanctioned 94 individuals or entities for human rights abuses, including senior decision makers responsible for enforcing Iran's mandatory hijab law. We continually assess our human rights sanctions regime, and will make further designations where we have the evidence to do so. We will continue to raise human rights issues with the Iranian Government.

In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on proposed restrictions, including enforcement measures, to the commercial import and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published soon.

The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations, including penalties and offences, for non-compliant commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom.

The UK coordinates closely with the EU, US, G7 and other international partners to tackle circumvention via multilateral fora and strategic consultations. Senior officials attend the Sanctions Coordinators Forum in Brussels, most recently in February 2024 focusing on strengthening enforcement of Russia sanctions. With the EU, US and Japan we have agreed a list of 50 Common High Priority items; battlefield-critical components we are targeting through joint diplomatic engagement with third countries. With the US and EU we have jointly engaged with the UAE, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia, to highlight circumvention risks and offer technical support.

Non-compliance with sanctions is a serious offence. We expect and support UK businesses to take steps to reduce their risk and comply with sanctions.

We regularly engage with exporters, have published statutory and non-statutory guidance, and issued notices to exporters on due diligence and circumvention risk.

We recently announced that we are creating the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, which will strengthen the implementation and enforcement of our trade sanctions once operational, including through additional business outreach and guidance.

Working closely with G7 partners, we have stepped up our engagement with third countries to support them to tackle circumvention of UK sanctions. We have sent joint delegations to UAE, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Armenia, to highlight risks and offer technical support to government and business.

The UK Government supports businesses domestically to tackle sanctions evasion, including by publishing guidance for exporters and by publishing the "Common High Priority Items List" of goods critical to Russia's military. HMG is also standing up the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, which will boost the enforcement and implementation of UK trade sanctions.

Boycotts of Western brands in the Middle East and North Africa are unlikely to have a material impact on the UK economy as a whole.

HMRC is responsible for enforcing and monitoring controls on strategic exports and sanctioned goods and investigating potential breaches of those controls.

There are extensive trade sanctions measures in place and the UK Government monitors the effectiveness of all its sanctions, including those made through the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

All sanctions designations, legislation and structures are kept under constant review to ensure that they are as effective as possible in meeting the UK’s foreign policy priorities. This means coming down hard on sanctions evaders; closing loopholes; and working with our international partners.

HM Revenue and Customs existing enforcement mechanisms are robust and act as a deterrent against those considering circumventing sanctions measures. We take breaches of sanctions seriously and undertake a preliminary investigation into all credible allegations of an offence. Non-compliance with UK sanctions is a serious offence and punishable through large financial penalties or criminal prosecution.

Preventing circumvention is a priority for UK ministers and officials who routinely work in close coordination with G7 members and allies. Our collective response to circumvention has included the joint publication of a list of Common High Priority goods critical to Russia's military-industrial complex and the introduction of the Oil Price Cap. We continue to deliver joint outreach to third countries and coordinated packages of sanctions that include targets in third countries that are enabling Russia to sustain its war machine. The most recent package was on 22 February. The Government will continue to coordinate with allies on circumvention issues.

We have imposed the biggest package of economic pressure on a major economy in recent memory, which has starved Russia of key Western goods and technology, degrading Russia's military and restricting its capacity to fight a 21st century war. UK exports of machinery and transport equipment have decreased by 98 per cent.

Sanctions are limiting Russia's financial resources. The UK has sanctioned 29 Russian banks accounting for over 90 per cent of the Russian banking sector. We have frozen over £18 billion worth of Russian assets in the UK. Without sanctions, we estimate Russia would have over $400 billion more to fund its war machine.

We monitor the effectiveness of all of our sanctions, including on Russia and keep our sanctions legislation and structures under constant review to ensure that they are as effective as possible. Sanctions are imposing significant costs on the Russian economy. Its budget is in deficit and is expected to remain so until 2025. Russia's imports of sanctioned goods are down by 50 per cent and have declined from both sanctioning countries and countries who have not imposed sanctions on Russia. This is disrupting and degrading Russia's military capabilities.

The UK has wholly or partially sanctioned £20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade – 96% of 2021 values. Compared to before the invasion, UK goods imports from Russia have fallen by 99.1%, and goods exports to Russia have fallen by 80%. Additional sanctions on services trade will further erode Russia’s ability to keep pace with Western countries.

Sanctions are starving Russia of advanced technologies and degrading their military capabilities, especially as many high-precision weapons rely on Western components.

Between 14 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has not issued licences by exception for the export of luxury fashion items or cars for these specific companies to Russia. This is the latest period published in the Official Export Control Statistics.

Information on Russia Sanctions relating to luxury goods (as specified in Schedule 3A to the Regulations) can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/russia-sanctions-guidance/russia-sanctions-guidance

The Government takes the enforcement of sanctions very seriously, and any UK person or company anywhere in the world that is selling or exporting sanctioned goods to Russia, directly or indirectly, may be in breach of sanctions law and potentially faces a heavy fine or imprisonment.

Between 14 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has not issued licences by exception for the export of luxury fashion items or cars for these specific companies to Russia. This is the latest period published in the Official Export Control Statistics.

Information on Russia Sanctions relating to luxury goods (as specified in Schedule 3A to the Regulations) can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/russia-sanctions-guidance/russia-sanctions-guidance

The Government takes the enforcement of sanctions very seriously, and any UK person or company anywhere in the world that is selling or exporting sanctioned goods to Russia, directly or indirectly, may be in breach of sanctions law and potentially faces a heavy fine or imprisonment.

Between 14 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has not issued licences by exception for the export of luxury fashion items or cars for these specific companies to Russia. This is the latest period published in the Official Export Control Statistics.

Information on Russia Sanctions relating to luxury goods (as specified in Schedule 3A to the Regulations) can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/russia-sanctions-guidance/russia-sanctions-guidance

The Government takes the enforcement of sanctions very seriously, and any UK person or company anywhere in the world that is selling or exporting sanctioned goods to Russia, directly or indirectly, may be in breach of sanctions law and potentially faces a heavy fine or imprisonment.