AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Zeitlinger, Gabriel Lansky, Philip Goeth and Konstantin Oppolzer, Lansky Ganzger Goeth + Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
2.3.2 Provision of Legal Services In general, EU law does not prohibit the provision of legal services to sanctioned persons. The right to be advised and defended by a lawyer is a fundamental right of each individual and an important guarantee of access to justice. However, the payment of the legal fees by the des - ignated person to the legal advisor requires in most cases a derogation because the funds that are used to pay the fees are frozen. Even if the designated person transfers the funds from an account outside of the European Union, the funds are deemed frozen once they enter the EU banking system. The concerned legal advisor may apply for a derogation according to Article 4 part 1 lit b of Regulation (EU) 269/2014 and to obtain the permit to receive reasonable legal fees and expenses. However, one should distinguish between the possi - bility of being paid by a person who is subject to indi - vidual sanctions set forth in Regulation (EU) 269/2014 and the prohibition of providing legal services accord - ing to the sectoral sanctions set forth in Article 5n of Regulation (EU) 833/2014, which applies at the same time to legal advisors who wish to provide legal advi - sory services to legal entities established in Russia (or persons owned or controlled or action on behalf or at the instruction of such Russian entities). This general prohibition covers mainly services regarding com - mercial transactions. Intra-group legal services are generally permitted after having obtained derogation. Importantly, legal advisory services for the purposes of defence and access to justice is permitted without the need to obtain a derogation. 2.4 Reporting In Austria, reporting obligations arise primarily under directly applicable EU sanctions regulations and are addressed to the competent national authorities, in particular the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). Reporting Obligations Under Regulation (EU) 269/2014 Newly designated persons under the Russian and Belarusian sanctions regime must report to the Aus - trian financial market authority within six weeks from
their designation funds located within Austria that are owned or controlled by them. Failure to comply with this reporting obligation is deemed as a sanctions cir - cumvention. Credit and financial institutions are required to imme - diately freeze funds and economic resources belong - ing to, owned, held or controlled by designated persons and to notify the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). Under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, the relevant information must be provided within two weeks of becoming available to the report - ing entity. In addition, Austrian financial institutions are subject to periodic reporting obligations in relation to frozen assets and blocked transactions. Reporting Obligations Under Regulation (EU) 833/2014 Legal entities established in Austria that are more than 40% owned by a Russian legal entity, a Russian national or a person residing in Russia must report to the competent authority in Austria, within two weeks after the end of each quarter, any transfer of funds exceeding EUR100,000 out of the European Union made during that quarter, directly or indirectly, in one or several operations. Credit and financial institutions must also report, in relation to such legal entities, all transfers of funds out of the European Union that they initiated, directly or indirectly, for such legal entities during that semester, where the cumulative amount exceeded EUR 100,000. 3. Recent and Future Legal Developments 3.1 Significant Court Decisions or Legal Developments Austrian Sanctions Act 2024 (SanktG 2024) A significant development is the adoption of the Austrian Sanctions Act 2024 (SanktG 2024), which entered into force in February 2025 and fundamen - tally modernised Austria’s sanctions enforcement framework. While conduct predating the adoption of the Austrian Sanctions Act 2024 continues to be assessed under the previous legal regime (Austrian Sanctions Act 2010), the new legislation strengthens
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