The Tunisia (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/888)

Summary

This is a UK Statutory Instrument (S.I. 2011/888) circulated by the BVI Financial Services Commission as a sanctions alert. It gives domestic legal effect to EU Council Regulation (EU) No. 101/2011, which imposes an asset freeze on persons, entities and bodies listed in connection with the situation in Tunisia. The Regulations create criminal offences for dealing with, or making available, the funds or economic resources of a 'designated person'.

• Core prohibitions: No person may deal with funds or economic resources belonging to, or make funds or economic resources available directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of, a designated person if they know or have reasonable cause to suspect this.
• Licensing exception: HM Treasury may grant licences authorising otherwise prohibited acts, which may be general, conditional, time-limited or person-specific.
• Frozen account crediting: Relevant institutions may credit a frozen account with interest, contractual payments due before the freeze, or incoming transfers, but must inform the Treasury without delay when they do so.
• Reporting duty: Relevant institutions (deposit-takers, money transmitters, currency exchanges, cheque-cashing businesses) must inform the Treasury as soon as practicable if they know or suspect a customer is a designated person or has committed an offence under the Regulations, and must provide identifying and account details.
• Information powers: The Treasury may request information from designated persons, licence holders, or any UK resident person to monitor compliance or detect evasion.
• Offences and penalties: Contravening the prohibitions, breaching licence conditions, providing false information to obtain a licence, or circumventing the prohibitions are criminal offences carrying imprisonment and/or fines.

This instrument is a UK domestic legal measure implementing an EU sanctions regime tied to the 2011 Tunisia situation; its continuing applicability and current status (including any subsequent revocation or replacement by later UK sanctions legislation) are not addressed in this text and should be independently verified before relying on it.

Key obligations

• Persons must not deal with funds or economic resources of a designated person if they know or have reasonable cause to suspect this.
• Persons must not make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to a designated person or for their benefit if they know or have reasonable cause to suspect this.
• Relevant institutions must inform HM Treasury without delay if they credit a frozen account under the permitted exceptions.
• Relevant institutions must inform HM Treasury as soon as practicable if they know or suspect a person is a designated person or has committed an offence under regulation 9 or 10, and must provide details of the basis for that knowledge/suspicion and of the person's identity and holdings.
• A person acting under a Treasury licence must comply with all conditions attached to that licence.
• Designated persons, licence holders, or UK residents must provide information requested by the Treasury for monitoring compliance or detecting evasion of the Regulations.

Applies to

relevant institutions (deposit-taking firms and EEA firms with UK deposit-taking permission), undertakings operating currency exchange offices, money transmission businesses or cheque-cashing businesses, designated persons, persons or bodies dealing with funds or economic resources of designated persons, licence holders under regulation 9

Deadlines

• without delay: Relevant institutions must inform the Treasury when crediting a frozen account under the permitted exceptions.
• as soon as practicable: Relevant institutions must inform the Treasury upon knowing or suspecting a person is a designated person or has committed an offence under the Regulations.
• 22nd March 2011, 6.00 p.m.: Date and time the Regulations came into force.