UK Offence Report

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (European Union Financial Sanctions) Regulations 2017 (revoked)

UK Statutory Instrument 2017 No. 218 — creates 8 criminal offences.

8offences created
0recorded in force
0revoked
Made
28 February 2017
In force from
1 March 2017
Extent
Not stated
Subject
International sanctions, export control and trade restrictions
Made under
(EC) No 329/2007, European Communities Act 1972, Schedule 2 to, the European Communities Act 1972

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations make provision relating to the enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) No. 329/2007 dated 27th March 2007 (OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p1) concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”) (“the Council Regulation”). The measures include the freezing of funds and economic resources of designated persons and ensuring that funds and economic resources are not made available to them or for their benefit. They also include broader financial sanctions measures. The Council Regulation has been amended recently by Council Regulation (EU) No 2017/330 (OJ L 50 28.2.2017, p1) of 27th February 2017. The amendments include changes to and the imposition of additional financial sanctions measures relating to the actions of credit and financial institutions, limiting bank accounts for North Korean diplomats and limiting any use of real property by North Korean diplomats for only diplomatic and consular purposes. Regulation 2 defines designated person as any person named in Annex IV, V or Va to the Council Regulation (as amended from time to time). Annex IV includes those persons listed by the United Nations Security Council, Annex V includes those persons listed by the Council of the European Union and Annex Va includes those persons working on behalf of or at the direction of a person listed in Annex IV or V or those persons assisting in the evasion of sanctions or violating the provisions of the Council Regulation. Regulations 3 to 7 provide prohibitions against dealing with the funds or economic resources of a designated person, or making funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a designated person. Regulation 8 provides that the Treasury may direct that the provisions of regulations 4 to 7 apply in relation to a person as if that person were a designated person. Regulation 9 provides an exception to the prohibitions in regulations 4 and 5 where a frozen account is credited for a permitted reason. Regulations 10 to 18 place restrictions upon dealing with DPRK entities in financial services and markets. They include prohibitions on credit and financial institutions within the EU opening accounts or forming business relationships with DPRK entities, require the termination of existing accounts and relationships, prohibit the acquisitions of bonds, and prohibit investment and financial support for trade. Regulation 19 prohibits any transfers of funds to or from the DPRK unless exceptions apply, and regulation 20 details the procedure for authorisation of transfers when it is required. Regulation 21 prohibits DPRK diplomatic missions, consular posts, diplomats and consular officials from holding a bank account without a licence from the Treasury. Regulation 22 prohibits the DPRK from using any real property, and any person from making real property available to the DPRK, for anything except diplomatic and consular purposes. Regulation 23 provides a licensing procedure to enable funds and economic resources to be exempted from the various prohibitions. Regulation 24 makes it an offence to breach any of the prohibitions laid out in the Regulations, or to seek to circumvent those provisions. Regulations 25 to 28 contain provision about penalties, proceedings and who, in relation to bodies corporate and other bodies, may be prosecuted for an offence under the Regulations. Regulation 32 revokes the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (European Union Financial Sanctions) Regulations 2013 and its amending Regulations. These Regulations revoke the 2013 Regulations and consolidate their substantive provisions. Regulation 33 provides that licences and authorisations which were granted under those revoked Regulations continue to have effect for the purposes of these Regulations. The Schedule makes provision for information gathering and information disclosure. A list of designated persons is available on the Internet at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets. An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the costs of business or the voluntary sector is foreseen. Further information is available from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ and on the Treasury’s website (www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/office-of-financial-sanctions-implementation/about).

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service has no record of this instrument, although it covers the period. Nothing is inferred from that.

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