IUA Circular 012/26

Key Sanctions Topics for the Insurance Industry

with guest speakers Maya Lester KC Senior Barrister (King’s Counsel), Brick Court Chambers and Michael O'Kane Senior Partner, Peters & Peters

This event will be REMOTE only.

Date: Wednesday 04 March 2026
Time: Session to commence at 12noon for 1hr (UK/London time)
Subject: At this IUA event, our guest speakers will provide an overview of key global sanctions developments for the insurance industry.

REGISTER HERE!

Contact: Deborah Finch, IUA Events Manager

Sanctions are a complex and fast-moving regulatory issue for the insurance industry. Enforcement actions against "shadow fleet" vessels are on the rise in the EU and the USA, and the EU has recently announced that the 20th sanctions package will introduce a full maritime services ban for Russia crude oil. Points of divergence in sanctions policy between the major sanctioning states and the risk posed by secondary sanctions have exacerbated the complexity of developing a robust sanctions policy.

This IUA event will provide an overview of key global sanctions developments for the insurance industry, with a particular emphasis on the following topics:

• Divergence between US, UK, and EU sanctions policy
• The impact of secondary sanctions
• Legal developments and key judgments
• Sanctions circumvention and the shadow fleet

Attendees will be able to submit questions for discussion by the speakers.

Guest Speakers:
Maya Lester KC: Maya Lester KC is a senior barrister (King’s Counsel) at Brick Court Chambers with a particular expertise in sanctions. She is the “star practitioner” for sanctions in the legal directories which describe her as the “Queen of the Sanctions Bar” who “owns the world of sanctions”. She has appeared in many of the leading cases in the UK and EU courts.

Michael O'Kane: Michael O'Kane is a senior partner at Peters & Peters. He is ranked in Band 1 for sanctions work by the legal directories and has acted for companies, senior executives and HNW individuals in many of the most high-profile and complex national and international business crime cases. He has particular expertise in international corruption, criminal cartels, financial sanctions, INTERPOL, extradition and private prosecutions.

Maya Lester KC and Michael O'Kane co-founded, write, and edit globalsanctions.com, a comprehensive, global, and up-to-date online sanctions tool.