1.All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by persons responsible for misappropriation of Tunisian State funds, and natural or legal persons or entities associated with them, as listed in the Annex, shall be frozen.
2.No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, natural or legal persons or entities listed in the Annex.
3.The competent authority of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as it deems appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:
(a)necessary to satisfy the basic needs of the persons listed in the Annex and their dependent family members, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;
(b)intended exclusively for the payment of reasonable professional fees and the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;
(c)intended exclusively for the payment of fees or service charges for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; or
(d)necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided that the competent authority has notified the competent authority of the other Member States and the Commission of the grounds on which it considers that a specific authorisation should be granted, at least 2 weeks prior to the authorisation.
A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation it grants under this paragraph.
[F14. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities of a Member State, may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided the following conditions are met:
(a) the funds or economic resources are the subject of an arbitral decision rendered prior to the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in paragraph 1 was listed in the Annex or of a judicial or administrative decision rendered in the Union, or a judicial decision enforceable in the Member State concerned, prior to or after that date;
(b) the funds or economic resources will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a decision or recognised as valid in such a decision, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;
(c) the decision is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in the Annex; and
(d) recognising the decision is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned.
The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.]
[F15. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:
(a) interest or other earnings on those accounts; or
(b) payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose prior to the date on which those accounts became subject to this Decision; or
(c) payments due under judicial, administrative or arbitral decisions rendered in the Union or enforceable in the Member State concerned,
provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to the measures provided for in paragraph 1.]