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ANGOLA Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Sara Alves Lourenço, Caio de Mello Ferreira and João Saiago Canjeque, VdA

8.4 International Conflict(s) With regard to the Russia–Ukraine conflict, Angola was initially neutral, abstaining in the first UN General Assembly resolution put to a vote in March 2022 condemning Russia’s inva - sion. However, the Angolan government voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution put to a vote in October 2022 condemning the annexation of four regions of Ukraine by Russia. Despite this, no sanctions on Russian individuals and/or entities are currently in place. Although not immune to potential shocks, nota - bly through rising prices of food and agricultural products, Angola has thus far been resilient to the impact of the war in Ukraine, with no signifi - cant implications particularly for maritime law or trade. As far as the authors are aware, Angolan courts are yet to deal with non-performance of obligations related to the war in Ukraine. US sanctions against Russia, especially after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, have generated important repercussions on international rela - tions, including between Russia and Angola. The relationship between the two countries is based on historical ties and co-operation in vari - ous areas, such as energy, defence and trade. However, US sanctions have had a number of consequences for this relationship. Despite Russia being affected by these sanc - tions, Angola continues to maintain trade rela - tions with Russia. Although it should be borne in mind that Russia is prevented from selling military materiel due to sanctions, co-operation in the military field continues.

of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruc - tion); and • Law No 1/12 of 12 January 2012 (the Law on the Designation and Execution of Inter - national Legal Acts) and ancillary regulations thereof. In addition to providing the national legal frame - work with an adequate system of enforcement of international sanctions imposed by the Unit - ed Nations Security Council, these statutes also prescribe the terms for the criminal liability resulting from non-compliance with the restric - tions imposed by the relevant sanctions. Accordingly, the National Bank of Angola has approved Notice No 14/20 of 22 June 2020 con - taining the rules and procedures to be adopted by commercial banks in order to conduct proper KYC and risk assessment analysis in relation to all operations requested by their clients, and to ensure compliance with any applicable interna - tional sanctions. The only record of a sanction imposed on an Angolan entity dates back to 1993 and was imposed by the UN Security Council on the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The sanctions included the freezing of the group’s funds, a ban on the dia - monds originating from UNITA-held territory, and an embargo on the sale of arms and petroleum to the group. The sanctions were in force until peace was assured in 2002, in light of UNITA’s commitment to continuing the peace process. No legal process was initiated in this regard.

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