Russian courts to have jurisdiction over sanctioned entities

New Russian Federal law Nr. 171-FZ (“Lugovoy Law”) on changes to the Russian arbitration regulation is coming into force on 19 June 2020. Russian state commercial courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving sanctioned entities that fall within the scope of Russian legislation, including disputes between foreign businesses if these sanctions are a cause of the dispute. These new rules do not distinguish between the types of sanction, and are therefore applicable to entities and individuals subject of sanctions imposed by the U.S.A., European Union and other countries, as well as those whose assets are blocked or frozen (e.g., on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List).