The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom applying to the United Kingdom. The Act has two purposes; a) To enable the UK to create its own sanctions framework, allowing it to issue sanctions rather than adopting EU or UN models, and b) to make provisions of the purposes of the detection, investigation and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and to implement standards published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), removing the need to adopt EU directives. Introduction of the Act The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) was introduced to allow the UK to impose economic and other sanctions, and money laundering and terrorist financing regulations. Without introducing the Act, the UK would be at risk of breaching its international obligations as a member of the United Nations following Britain’s exit from the EU (colloquially referred to as ‘Brexit’). The Act allows the UK to implement sanctions passed by resolutions of the UN Security Council which were previously implemented through EU regulations under the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. On 1 May 2018, the UK House of Commons, without opposition, added the "Magnitsky amendment" to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill that allowed the British government to impose sanctions on people who commit gross human rights violations. The act received royal assent on 23 May 2018, and by 12 July 2020 the Act was being used to sanction 49 individuals. Of those sanctioned 25 were Russian, 20 were Saudi Arabian, two were from Myanmar and two organisations were North Korean. Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam was mentioned in Parliament by both parties that month in connection with the Act. From the 31 December 2020, types of sanctions in the UK have changed due to Brexit and it is important that all organisations comply with and understand the new laws. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 The power to make sanctions regulations Much of the act covers the UK’s powers to make and enforce its own sanctions. The Act confers broad powers upon the Secretary of State and the Treasury as the ‘appropriate Minister’ to impose sanctions regulations for compliance with a UN obligation or any other international obligation, or for a purpose that would: prevent terrorist acts in the UK or elsewhere in the interests of national security the interests