UK Offence Report

Amendments to the Central African Republic (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

regulation 2(13) of The Central African Republic (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

13 In regulation 28 (enabling or facilitating the conduct of armed hostilities)—

a for paragraph (1) substitute—

1 A person must not directly or indirectly provide anything falling within paragraph (1A) to or for the benefit of an armed group operating in the Central African Republic or an associated individual, or to any person acting on behalf or under the direction of such an armed group or associated individual, where such provision—

a relates to the operations of the recipient in the Central African Republic, or

b otherwise enables or facilitates the conduct of armed hostilities in the Central African Republic. ;

b after paragraph (1) insert— 1A The following fall within this paragraph—

a technical assistance,

b armed personnel,

c financial services or funds, or

d brokering services provided in relation to an arrangement whose object or effect is to provide, in

a non-UK country, anything mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c). ;

c for paragraph (3) substitute—

3 A person who contravenes the prohibition in paragraph (1) commits an offence, but it is

a defence for

a person charged with that offence (“P”) to show that P did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that—

a the provision as mentioned in paragraph (1)—

i was to or for the benefit of an armed group operating in the Central African Republic or an associated individual, or to any person acting on behalf or under the direction of such

a group or individual;

ii related to the operations of the recipient in the Central African Republic or would otherwise enable or facilitate the conduct of armed hostilities in the Central African Republic; or

b the individual to whom the provision as mentioned in paragraph (1) was made was an associated individual. .

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
dealing with funds or making them available in breach of sanctions
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

The defence, as drafted

es the prohibition in paragraph (1) commits an offence, but it is a defence for a person charged with that offence (“P”) to show that P did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that— a the provision as mentioned in paragraph (1)— i was to or for the benefit of an armed group operating in the Central African Republic or an associated individual, or to any person acting on beh

What would breach regulation 2(13)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words an offence is committed where a person contravenes the prohibition in paragraph (1).
  2. Moving, converting or paying away funds that belong to a designated person under the Central African Republic (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, without a licence from the Treasury.
  3. Making funds or economic resources available to a designated person - which includes paying a third party who will pass on the benefit.
  4. Dealing with an asset in ignorance of the designation is still caught where the provision imposes no knowledge requirement; check the fault element stated below before assuming otherwise.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
15 December 2025
In force from
6 January 2026
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations are made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (c. 13) to amend the Central African Republic (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/616) (“the CAR Regulations”). These amendments are being made to ensure compliance with the UK’s UN obligations, specifically to ensure changes made by the UN Security Resolution 2745 (2024) (as extended by Resolution 2789 (2025)), in relation to the Central African Republic, are reflected. Regulation 4 of the CAR Regulations is amended to include reference to the amendment of the scope of the arms embargo by Resolution 2745 (2024) in relation to armed groups and associated individuals operating in the Central African Republic. Regulation 20 of the CAR Regulations is amended to provide a definition of “armed group operating in the Central African Republic” and a definition of an “associated individual” of such a group. Regulations 21 to 28 of the CAR Regulations are amended in light of these changes. A full impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. An impact assessment was, however, produced for the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/653271/Sanctions_and_Anti-Money_Laundering_Bill_Impact_Assessment_18102017.pdf.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Neither House could have amended it. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not; the Houses can reject an instrument or record their regret, but they cannot change a word of it. That is the constitutional position for every offence on this site.

The full procedural history →

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source