About Us
Mission Statement
The Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists is the leading sanctions and export controls association delivering best-in-class training, offering the CSS credential and fostering a dynamic, global community of sanctions and export controls professionals.
The goal of ACSS is to:
- Train the sanctions and export controls professional
- Provide professional qualifications and set standards for sanctions practitioners
- Serve the professional interests of its members by delivering high quality services and promoting the interests of the profession
- Be an authoritative and respected voice promoting sanctions compliance
- Enhance the careers of sanctions professionals worldwide
Definition
Sanctions are traditionally defined as the “deliberate, government-inspired withdrawal, or threat of withdrawal, of customary trade and financial relations with a target country in an effort to change that country’s policies.”
Gary Hufbauer & Barbara Oegg, A Short Survey of Economic Sanctions, INST. FOR INT’L ECON. (Aug. 2001),
https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/casestudy/hug01/
Targeted sanctions have become more common over the past two decades.
Sanctions can be either unilateral (e.g. issued by United Kingdom, United States), or multilateral (e.g. issued by United Nations Security Council, or European Union).
The Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists offers an examination that addresses knowledge and skills common to all sanctions professionals in varied employment settings, including financial institutions, international corporations, law firms, consulting companies, government, and other trades and businesses. Upon successfully passing the exam, participants will receive the credentials as a “Certified Sanctions Specialists”
Goal of Sanctions
Penalize the target for its practices
Make a symbolic political statement of opposition against such practices
Thwart activities that are illegal or threaten national security
About ACSS
The Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists
Financial institutions, international corporations, law firms, consulting companies, government and other trades and businesses depend on the ACSS to assist them with their sanctions compliance needs. “Certified Sanctions Specialist” or CSS is a mark of distinction that shows individuals have had full sanctions compliance training.
ACSS works with several international organizations including the UN Security Council – Sanctions Division and EU Commission on Private-Public Partnership and Capacity Building Outreach initiatives in the United States and Central Asia and the Middle East.
On 9-10 November 2023, the European Union organised training workshops in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on EU sanctions, with organisational support from the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS).
Our Founder
Saskia Rietbroek, CSS
Saskia is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS), a professional membership body for sanctions professionals worldwide. She is a Certified Sanctions Specialist (CSS) and an industry leader in financial crime topics. Saskia has over 15 years of Sanctions/AML experience in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Her global footprint enables Saskia to apply valuable expertise and insight into international training and financial crime compliance projects.
She is a frequent speaker in English, Spanish and Dutch on a variety of financial crime topics.
She earned law degrees from Leiden University (Netherlands) and Universidad La Católica (Lima, Peru), and was admitted to the Lima Bar Association. She also holds an international MBA from Florida International University. She speaks fluent Dutch, English and Spanish, as well as basic German.