ACSS Denmark Chapter: EU Sanctions Enforcement in Denmark & Across the EU

Anders Amstrup Fournais joined Hafnia Law Firm in 2012 after graduating from law school and was admitted to the Danish bar in 2015. Anders earned the right of audience before the High Courts in 2015 and the Supreme Court in 2020, and he became a partner in 2021.

Anders’ main practice areas are dispute resolution and shipping & trading. Anders is an active litigator and thrives with complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and international arbitration. He has been instructed on more than 100 English arbitration cases acting for Danish and foreign clients. Anders also act as counsel in international arbitration cases proceeding under the Rules of the Nordic Maritime and Offshore Association (NOMA) and has successfully obtained several NOMA arbitration awards that have become published in recent years.

Anders leads the firm’s sanctions compliance desk acting for banks and other financial institutions as well as shipping and trading clients. Anders provides legal advice on sanctions compliance and handles disputes and investigations for clients faced with allegations of sanctions breaches. Anders is one of the most knowledgeable Danish lawyers when it comes to sanctions.

Anders has cutting-edge experience acting for companies that trade in marine fuel products, energy and other commodities.

Jeff Nielsen is a sanctions and export controls lawyer with over 20 years’ experience representing clients in diverse industries, both at law firms and in-house. His expertise is in both United States and European Union sanctions and export controls laws.

Jens Wrang Nielsen is a sanctions professional who started his career in the Danish Business Authority. Here, he was responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the sanctions that falls under the remit of the authority during the challenging times of 2021-2023.

He now works as a principal compliance officer in Danske Bank with sanctions compliance.

Ingrid Breit is currently Deputy Head of Unit for criminal law at the European Commission, DG Justice and Consumers. She previously worked with the Directorate-General for Competition. Prior to joining the European Commission, she worked as a référendaire at the General Court of the European Union. She holds a degree in law and a PhD from the University in Vienna and an LLM in European Law from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Gonzalo is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, focusing on sanctions and counter threat finance. His research focuses on sanctions implementation, circumvention and evasion tactics, and sanctions enforcement. He leads the research of Euro SIFMANet (European Sanctions and Illicit Finance Monitoring and Analysis Network). Gonzalo also researches counter threat finance, including abuse of NPOs for terrorist financing, crime-enabled terrorist financing, and financing of right-wing extremism. He is part of Project CRAAFT (Collaboration, Research and Analysis Against Financing of Terrorism).

Prior to joining RUSI in 2022, Gonzalo worked as a legal advisor to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as a researcher of transnational organised crime in Spain and across Europe, collaborating extensively with non-profit organisations and law enforcement agencies.

He holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Law and International Relations from the University of Deusto, and an MSc in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics, where his dissertation examined combatting Al-Shabaab through the targeting of its illicit sources of financing.

Anders Amstrup Fournais joined Hafnia Law Firm in 2012 after graduating from law school and was admitted to the Danish bar in 2015. Anders earned the right of audience before the High Courts in 2015 and the Supreme Court in 2020, and he became a partner in 2021.

Anders’ main practice areas are dispute resolution and shipping & trading. Anders is an active litigator and thrives with complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and international arbitration. He has been instructed on more than 100 English arbitration cases acting for Danish and foreign clients. Anders also act as counsel in international arbitration cases proceeding under the Rules of the Nordic Maritime and Offshore Association (NOMA) and has successfully obtained several NOMA arbitration awards that have become published in recent years.

Anders leads the firm’s sanctions compliance desk acting for banks and other financial institutions as well as shipping and trading clients. Anders provides legal advice on sanctions compliance and handles disputes and investigations for clients faced with allegations of sanctions breaches. Anders is one of the most knowledgeable Danish lawyers when it comes to sanctions.

Anders has cutting-edge experience acting for companies that trade in marine fuel products, energy and other commodities.

Ingrid Breit is currently Deputy Head of Unit for criminal law at the European Commission, DG Justice and Consumers. She previously worked with the Directorate-General for Competition. Prior to joining the European Commission, she worked as a référendaire at the General Court of the European Union. She holds a degree in law and a PhD from the University in Vienna and an LLM in European Law from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Gonzalo is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, focusing on sanctions and counter threat finance. His research focuses on sanctions implementation, circumvention and evasion tactics, and sanctions enforcement. He leads the research of Euro SIFMANet (European Sanctions and Illicit Finance Monitoring and Analysis Network). Gonzalo also researches counter threat finance, including abuse of NPOs for terrorist financing, crime-enabled terrorist financing, and financing of right-wing extremism. He is part of Project CRAAFT (Collaboration, Research and Analysis Against Financing of Terrorism).

Prior to joining RUSI in 2022, Gonzalo worked as a legal advisor to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as a researcher of transnational organised crime in Spain and across Europe, collaborating extensively with non-profit organisations and law enforcement agencies.

He holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Law and International Relations from the University of Deusto, and an MSc in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics, where his dissertation examined combatting Al-Shabaab through the targeting of its illicit sources of financing.

Jeff Nielsen is a sanctions and export controls lawyer with over 20 years’ experience representing clients in diverse industries, both at law firms and in-house. His expertise is in both United States and European Union sanctions and export controls laws.

Jens Wrang Nielsen is a sanctions professional who started his career in the Danish Business Authority. Here, he was responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the sanctions that falls under the remit of the authority during the challenging times of 2021-2023.

He now works as a principal compliance officer in Danske Bank with sanctions compliance.