Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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254. To ask the Minister for Finance the investigations that are being undertaken by his Department, the Central Bank or an agency under his authority into the potential circumvention of the sanctions against Russia in the International Financial Services Centre and elsewhere; if there are investigations underway; and if so, the number of investigations. [18263/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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It is important to note that all natural and legal persons in the State are obliged to comply with EU sanctions measures. Regulations issued at EU level have direct effect across the Union. A breach of such a sanction is a criminal offence.

Sanctions have been in place against Russian individuals and entities due to Russia’s actions in relation to Ukraine since 2014. These have been updated and added to several times since late February 2022.

The Department of Finance does not undertake investigations into the potential circumvention of sanctions.

I am informed by the Central Bank of Ireland that it cannot comment on specific supervisory engagements but the Bank continues to engage with firms with respect to financial sanctions. Supervisors of regulated entities (including virtual asset service providers that are providing services but not yet registered) emailed firms to notify them of the increased sanctions and provided firms with a link to the Bank's dedicated page on these sanctions.

The Central Bank also took the opportunity to remind firms of the necessity to have processes in place to operationalise these sanctions as they pertain to the business and that firms should be monitoring the situation closely given the potential for further sanctions. Firms were reminded of their obligation to ensure that they have robust controls in place, including policies and processes, to ensure that risks to the business are effectively identified, monitored and mitigated on an ongoing basis. Supervisors were provided with sanctions related materials to assist in their engagement with firms, and there has been a significant focus on Ukraine related issues in supervisory engagements.

In banking, there was an AML sanctions questionnaire issued to Significant Institution and Less Significant Institution firms on the week ended 11 March, and all responses have been received with no significant areas of concern identified by the supervision teams. The Central Bank will continue to engage with its European peers and regulated entities to ensure that there is good awareness of the sanctioning regime and the need for firms to continue to operationalise those sanctions.