In today’s turbulent global geopolitical landscape, economic sanctions are becoming an important feature. In essence, this is a difficult subject to discuss because it involves international diplomacy and politics. However, sanctions invariably influence global trade and commerce and directly affect the business community, including private individuals or organizations wishing to avoid international politics and diplomacy. At the same time, we are seeing an unprecedented rise in the use of arbitration to resolve international and private commercial disputes. As a result, arbitrants and arbitral players must now navigate the minefield of sanctions in the midst of the already complex conduct of arbitration. This article will examine and discuss the issue of how economic sanctions affect arbitration, including reference to recent case studies and relevant events of interest to the international arbitral community.