When post-invasion sanctions against Russia, and a select list of Russians, were first announced in 2022, several Canadian industries scrambled to adapt to the new prohibitions relating to the management and movement of Russian goods and assets. It was reported that Canadian financial institutions such as banks and investment firms had hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Russian companies that were subject to these sanctions.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has continued, many countries have updated their original sanctions to increase pressure on the Russian economy. In a recent press release following discussions at the 2023 G7 summit, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that U.S. citizens will, by June 18, 2023, be required to disclose to the Office of Foreign Assets Control any instances where they are in control or in possession of property targeted by prior Russian sanctions in which the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has an interest.

Canada also announced amendments to its Russian sanctions, although there were no amendments or additions to the prohibition against Canadian residents or any Canadian outside of Canada dealing in any property held on the behalf of a sanctioned individual. As such, while Canadian Trustees of Trusts which own or control assets in which the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation have an interest are already prohibited from dealing in, facilitating a transaction of, or making available such property to a sanctioned person, those Trustees who are dual US-Canadian citizens and have such pre-existing assets currently held in a Trust of which they are Trustee, will need to take immediate steps to disclose their control over those assets to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Canadian Department of Finance has also stated that a new federal registry requiring corporations to report accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information will be up and running by next year, which may also impact the management of Trusts in the time of widespread Russian sanctions.

Disclosure of beneficial ownership is an increasing global trend of which Trustees need to be aware and with which Trustees must comply in an increasingly global world, where the assets of the Trusts they manage may be subject to various differing or overlapping laws from various jurisdictions, based on such factors as who the beneficiaries of the Trust are, where the Trusts is resident, and the nationality of the Trustees themselves. Trustees of Trusts which control assets which are connected to Russia, or sanctioned Russian individuals and bodies, should be on the lookout for changes to the rules relating to the management and movement of these assets.