UK Weekly Sanctions Update - Week of February 16, 2026

In this weekly update, we summarise the most notable updates in the UK sanctions world. If you have any questions in respect of any of the developments set out below, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our London Global and Government Trade team listed above.

UK Sanctions

• UK Government to hear evidence on UK’s trade sanctions regime: On February 19, 2026, the Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls announced that it will hear evidence on the UK’s trade sanctions regime on February 25, 2026. The sub-committee will scrutinise the UK Government’s economic security regime and consider whether more needs to be done to ensure that its strategy can meet the challenges of an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape. (https://committees.parliament.uk/event/26618/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/).
• UK Government to hold webinar regarding guidance on civil enforcement processes: On February 19, 2026, OFSI announced that they will be holding a webinar covering the recently published consultation response on improving civil enforcement processes for financial sanctions. The webinar will be held on March 3, 2026 and the session will provide an opportunity to walk through the key changes in OFSI's enforcement and monetary penalties guidance and highlight important points for industry. (Financial sanctions enforcement and monetary penalties guidance - GOV.UK; Civil Enforcement Processes – Updated Guidance Tickets, Tuesday, Mar 3 from 2 pm to 3 pm GMT | Eventbrite).
• UK Government launches call for evidence regarding ownership and control test: On February 16, 2026, OFSI launched a call for evidence to seek industry views on how UK financial sanctions regulations on ownership and control are applied in practice. The ownership and control test is designed to stop sanctioned individuals and entities from sidestepping UK sanctions by hiding behind complex company structures, trusts or proxies. Industry representatives have reported to OFSI that assessing the ability of a designated person to control an entity can be difficult in practice and may create additional costs and legal risk. The exercise will be 8 weeks long and responses will be accepted until 11:59pm on April, 13, 2026. (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/ownership-and-control-test-in-uk-financial-sanctions-regulations).
• UK Financial Conduct Authority publish guidance on reporting sanctions evasion: On February 16, 2026, the FCA published new guidance on how to report sanctions evasions, namely, via the FCA’s whistleblowing team or by using the FCA’s wrongdoing or misconduct form. (https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/financial-sanctions/reporting-sanctions-evasions).