Lawyers struggle to get government permission to let sanctioned Russians pay legal fees
LAWYERS working for sanctioned oligarchs are floundering in their efforts to get paid for their work, due to struggles in obtaining permission from the UK government to let their sanctioned clients pay.
The UK government has received 15 separate applications for permission to temporarily lift sanctions so that sanctioned Russian clients are able to pay their legal fees, according to the Law Society Gazette.
The licenses allow Russian oligarchs to pay any legal fees, in line with UK sanctions legislation, which states that sanctioned individuals may receive “reasonable fees for the provision of legal advice”.
However, the UK’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has thus far refused to grant a single license to any of the applicants, according to data obtained from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
The data shows that 15 applications have been filed on behalf of Russian individuals or entities – ten of which were filed on behalf of law firms. However, the OFSI has not granted any of the entities a license so far.
The government’s inaction will leave law firms out of pocket, unless they are able to get hold of the licenses allowing their sanctioned clients to legally pay their fees.
In a statement, an OFSI spokesperson said it “carefully scrutinises” ever application it recieves to determine whether the exemptions apply.
The office said it aims to respond to all completed applications within four weeks. “This does not mean that a licence will necessarily be issued within four weeks,” the OFSI said.