In a statement dated March 18th, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has finally announced its intention to stop supporting ISO certification activities in Russia and Belarus. The statement appears to reverse course from a prior statement published on March 10.
The original statement, authored by ANAB VP Lori Gillespie, did not promise to stop accreditations in regions under sanctions, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but only promised to “[continue] to analyze the impact of these events and sanctions.”
The new statement, signed by Reinaldo Figueiredo and Doug Leonard, now goes further and demands that all ANAB-accredited certification activities in Russia and Belarus cease immediately, and stop using the ANAB logo for companies in the regions.
Currently, the U.S. has not imposed a comprehensive embargo against the Russian Federation or Belarus; however, the U.S. and other governments are continuing to implement a growing number of definitive sanctions, trade restrictions and actions to block assets, access to financial systems, the exchange of technology, and the ability to engage in reliable communications. In addition, private businesses around the world have elected to “self-sanction,” thereby ceasing activities that have further impacted communications and the movement of people and goods in this region of the world.
In light of this evolving and complex sanctions landscape, we have determined that it is now appropriate and necessary to require our accredited CABs to immediately halt all ANAB-accreditation activity in the Russian Federation and Belarus and to immediately remove all references to ANAB and ANAB-accreditation symbols associated with Russian or Belarusian entities, sites, products, and systems.
As of March 21, the statement does not appear on ANAB’s website, and has only been sent to ANAB’s certification bodies.
The statement appears to point to competition between ANAB’s leadership, which has been rudderless since the disappearance of COO Keith Greenaway. Greenaway has not made any ANAB-related appearances for about two years, and Figueiredo and Leonard are now listed as the “Co-Interim Executive Directors.” ANAB has not made any statement on Greenaway’s departure, nor even if he has left the organization.
ANAB Statement, March 18 (click to enlarge)
To date, Gillespie has been passed up for the chief executive role three times.
ANAB was under increasing pressure from Oxebridge and stakeholders demanding it take action to honor international sanctions and those of the US under OFAC regulations. Oxebridge has warned ANAB executives that failure to comply with OFAC sanctions can result in personal criminal prosecution, and decades in prison. A source close to ANAB said that the group had consulted with an attorney who felt the current US sanctions allowed ANAB to continue to sell its services in Russia and Belarus, and had advised ANAB to ignore the matter. Figueiredo’s statement that “the U.S. has not imposed a comprehensive embargo against the Russian Federation or Belarus” appears identical to the account provided to Oxebridge.
ANAB accredits Russian Register, which has then certified companies under EU and US sanctions. Because Russian Register utilizes multiple accreditations, it is not always clear which trace back to ANAB, or which are the result of Russian Register merely using the ANAB logo on certificates without authorization.
ANAB acts as Treasurer of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), which has still refused to issue any policy or statement in support of sanctions. Instead, IAF claims its policy on “neutrality” — which does not appear to exist as an actual document — trumps international law.
Both IAF and ANAB have refused to frame the conflict as a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The IAF has referred to it as a “situation,” and ANAB calls it a “conflict in Ukraine,” suggesting that neither organization wants to call out Russia’s role as invader.
Gillespie is Vice-Chair of the IAF, and ANAB’s Roger Muse signs the IAF’s annual tax filings in Delaware. The IAF is then run by Elva Nilsen, from Quebec.
ANAB is a defense contractor for the United States, and has additional legal obligations. It has filed official “certs and reps” documentation under its CAGE code, and signed by executive Cheryl Denman, in order to win contracts with the Dept. of Homeland Security, among other agencies. A failure to honor sanctions would likely result in ANAB being debarred from government contracts, and its executives sued for fraud.
