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 Sanctions - Updates

 

New UN sanctions on North Korea

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea. These far-reaching sanctions, which were drafted by agreement between the USA and China:

1. require inspection of all cargo leaving or entering North Korea by sea or air;
2. ban all sales or transfers of small arms and light weapons to North Korea;
3. ban the export from North Korea of coal, iron, and iron ore being used to fund North Korea’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes;
4. ban the export from North Korea of gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, and rare earth minerals;
5. ban the export to North Korea of aviation fuel, including kerosene-type rocket fuel;
6. prohibit the export to and from North Korea of several new luxury items, including snowmobiles, recreational water vehicles, luxury watches, and lead crystal;
7. require member states to expel North Korean diplomats who engage in “illicit activites”;
8. ban North Korea from chartering vessels or aircraft, and call on countries to de-register any vessel owned, operated, or crewed by North Korea;
9. prohibit the opening of new branches, subsidiaries, or representative offices of North Korean banks in member states;
10. prohibit financial institutions from establishing new joint ventures, or maintaining or establishing correspondent relationships with North Korean banks;
11. require that member states close North Korean banks in their jurisdictions and terminate banking relationships with them within 90 days;
12. require member states to impose asset freezes on entities linked to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes (previously they were only encouraged to do this); and
13. impose asset freezes and travel bans on 16 people and 12 entities, including the agency responsible for North Korea’s rocket launch in February. 31 ships owned by Ocean Maritime Management Company will also be designated.

EU follows EU Belarus sanctions

Switzerland has followed the EU in lifting its asset freezes and travel bans that relate to all but 4 people on its sanctions against Belarus - contact us for full details

EU  implements new UN terrorism listings

The EU has added 11 people and 1 entity to its Al-Qaida / ISIL terrorism sanctions listings to implement new UN designations from 29 February 2016.

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2016/307

of 3 March 2016

amending for the 243rd time Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with the Al Qaida network

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 of 27 May 2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with the Al-Qaida network (1), and in particular Article 7(1)(a) and Article 7a(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)	Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 lists the persons, groups and entities covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources under that Regulation.

(2)

On 29 February 2016, the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to add eleven natural persons and one entity to the list of persons, groups and entities to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources should apply. Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 should therefore be updated accordingly.

(3)	In order to ensure that the measures provided for in this Regulation are effective, this Regulation should enter into force immediately,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 3 March 2016.

For the Commission,

On behalf of the President,

Head of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments

---

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 is amended as follows:

(1)

The following entries shall be added to Annex I to regulation (EC) No 881/2002 under the heading ‘Natural persons’: (a) ‘Abd Al-Baset Azzouz (alias (a) Abdelbassed Azouz, (b) Abdul Baset Azouz, (c) AA (initials)). Date of birth: 7.2.1966. Place of birth: Doma, Libya. Nationality: Libyan. Passport No: (a) 223611 (Libyan passport number) (b) C00146605 (British passport number). Address: Libya (last known location). Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (b) ‘Gulmurod Khalimov. Date of birth (a) 14.5.1975, (b) approximately 1975. Place of birth: (a) Varzob area, Tajikistan, (b) Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Nationality: Tajikistan. Address: Syrian Arab Republic (location as at September 2015). Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (c) ‘Nusret Imamovic (alias Nusret Sulejman Imamovic). Date of birth: (a) 26.9.1971, (b) 26.9.1977. Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Passport No: (a) 349054 (Bosnia and Herzegovina passport number), b) 3490054 (Bosnia and Herzegovina passport number). Address: Syrian Arab Republic (location as at September 2015). Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (d) ‘Muhannad Al-Najdi (alias (a) 'Ali Manahi 'Ali al-Mahaydali al-'Utaybi, (b) Ghassan al-Tajiki. Date of birth: 19.5.1984. Place of birth: al-Duwadmi, Saudi Arabia. Nationality: Saudi Arabian. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (e) ‘Morad Laaboudi (alias (a) Abu Ismail, (b) Abu Ismail al-Maghribi. Date of birth: 26.2.1993. Place of birth: Morocco. Nationality: Moroccan. Passport No: (a) UZ6430184 (Moroccan passport number), (b) CD595054 (Moroccan national identity number). Address: Turkey. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (f) ‘Ali Musa Al-Shawakh (alias (a) 'Ali Musa al-Shawagh, (b) 'Ali Musa al-Shawagh, (c) Ali al-Hamoud al-Shawakh, (d) Ibrahim al-Shawwakh, (e) Muhammad 'Ali al-Shawakh, (f) Abu Luqman, (g) Ali Hammud, (h) Abdullah Shuwar al-Aujayd, (i) Ali Awas, (j) 'Ali Derwish, (k) 'Ali al-Hamud, (l) Abu Luqman al- Sahl, (m) Abu Luqman al-Suri, (n) Abu Ayyub. Date of birth: 1973. Place of birth: Sahl Village, Raqqa Province, Syrian Arab Republic. Nationality: Syrian. Address: Syrian Arab Republic. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (g) ‘Hasan Al-Salahayn Salih Al-Sha'ari (alias (a) Husayn al-Salihin Salih al-Sha'iri, (b) Abu Habib al-Libi, (c) Hasan Abu Habib). Date of birth: 1975. Place of birth: Derna, Libya. Nationality: Libyan. Passport No: (a) 542858 (Libyan passport number), (b) 55252 (Libyan national identification number, issued in Derna, Libya). Address: Libya. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (h) ‘Mounir Ben Dhaou Ben Brahim Ben Helal (alias (a) Mounir Helel, (b) Mounir Hilel, (c) Abu Rahmah, (d) Abu Maryam al-Tunisi. Date of birth: 10.5.1983. Place of birth: Ben Guerdane, Tunisia. Nationality: Tunisian. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (i) ‘Mohammed Abdel-Halim Hemaida Saleh (alias (a) Muhammad Hameida Saleh, (b) Muhammad Abd-al-Halim Humaydah, (c) Faris Baluchistan). Date of birth: (a) 22.9.1988, (b) 22.9.1989. Place of birth: Alexandria, Egypt. Nationality: Egyptian. Address: Egypt. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (j) ‘Salim Benghalem. Date of birth: 6.7.1980. Place of birth: Bourg la Reine, France. Nationality: French. Address: Syrian Arab Republic (as at September 2015). Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’ (k) ‘Abu Ubaydah Yusuf Al-Anabi (alias (a) Abou ObeJda Youssef AI-Annabi, (b) Abu- Ubaydah Yusuf Al-lnabi, (c) Mebrak Yazid, (d) Youcef Abu Obeida, (e) Mibrak Yazid, (f) Yousif Abu Obayda Yazid, (g) Yazid Mebrak, (h) Yazid Mabrak, (i) Yusuf Abu Ubaydah, (j) Abou Youcef). Date of birth: 7.2.1969. Place of birth: Annaba, Algeria. Nationality: Algerian. Address: Algeria. Other information: Photo available for inclusion in the INTERPOL-UN Security Council Special Notice. Date of designation referred to in Article 7d(2)(i): 29.2.2016.’   US Treasury Imposes sanctions against Venezuelan officials  On 9 March 2015, the US Treasury Department announced that it has designated seven individuals as Specially Designated Nationals (‘SDN’) in view of the situation in Venezuela.  The designations are made pursuant to an Executive Order and target individuals alleged to be involved in violence against anti-government protestors, serious human rights abuses, and the arrest or prosecution of individuals for their legitimate exercise of free speech. Under the sanctions, listed individuals and entities will be barred from entering the United States, will have all of their assets within United States jurisdiction frozen, and US persons will generally be prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. The individuals listed include the director general of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Intelligence Service and the director of Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Police.  They are: Antonio Benavides Manuel Bernal Gustavo Gonzalez Katherine Haringhton Justo Noguera Manuel Perez Miguel Vivas Speaking on 9 March 2015, US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew stated that the United States is “committed to defending human rights and advancing democratic governance in Venezuela through the use of financial sanctions”, adding that “Corrupt actions by Venezuelan government officials deprive Venezuela of needed economic resources that could be invested in the Venezuelan people and used to spur economic growth”.  Secretary Lew also emphasised that “This Executive Order will be used to protect the US financial system from the illicit financial flows from public corruption in Venezuela”.