Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/849Show full title

CHAPTER VII FREEZING OF FUNDS AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES

Article 27

1. All funds and economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the following persons and entities shall be frozen:

(a) the persons and entities designated by the Sanctions Committee or by the UN Security Council as being engaged in or providing support for, including through illicit means, the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes, or persons or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or entities owned or controlled by them, including through illicit means, as listed in Annex I;

(b) the persons and entities not covered by Annex I, as listed in Annex II, that:

(i)

are responsible for, including through supporting or promoting, the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction related programmes or persons or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or entities owned or controlled by them, including through illicit means,

(ii)

provide financial services or the transfer to, through, or from the territory of Member States, or involving nationals of Member States or entities organised under their laws, or persons or financial institutions in their territory, of any financial or other assets or resources that could contribute to the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes, or persons or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or entities owned or controlled by them,

(iii)

are involved, including through the provision of financial services, in the supply to or from the DPRK of arms and related materiel of all types, or the supply to the DPRK of items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes;

(c) the persons and entities not covered by Annex I or Annex II working on behalf or at the direction of a person or entity listed in Annex I or Annex II or persons assisting in the evasion of sanctions or violating the provisions of UNSCR 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) or 2270 (2016) or of this Decision, as listed in Annex III to this Decision;

(d) the entities of the Government of the DPRK or the Worker's Party of Korea, or persons or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or entities owned or controlled by them, that the Member State determines are associated with the DPRK's nuclear or ballistic-missile programmes or other activities prohibited by UNSCR 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) or 2270 (2016).

2. No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of persons or entities referred to in paragraph 1.

3. Exemptions may be made for funds and economic resources which are:

(a) necessary to satisfy basic needs, including payment 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 or the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services; or

(c) intended exclusively for the payment of fees or service charges, in accordance with national laws, for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds and economic resources,

after notification, where appropriate, by the Member State concerned to the Sanctions Committee of the intention to authorise access to such funds and economic resources and in the absence of a negative decision by the Sanctions Committee within five working days of such notification.

4. Exemptions may also be made for funds and economic resources which are:

(a) necessary for extraordinary expenses. Where appropriate, the Member State concerned shall first notify and get approval from the Sanctions Committee; or

(b) the subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien or judgment, in which case the funds and economic resources may be used to satisfy that lien or judgment, provided that the lien was entered into or the judgment delivered prior to the date on which the person or entity referred to in paragraph 1 was designated by the Sanctions Committee, the UN Security Council or the Council, and is not for the benefit of a person or entity referred to in paragraph 1. Where appropriate the Member State concerned shall first notify the Sanctions Committee.

5. 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 before the date on which those accounts became subject to the restrictive measures,

provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments continue to be subject to paragraph 1.

6. Paragraph 1 shall not prevent a designated person or entity listed in Annex II from making a payment due under a contract entered into before the listing of that person or entity, provided that the relevant Member State has determined that:

(a) the contract is not related to any of the prohibited items, materials, equipment, goods, technologies, assistance, training, financial assistance, investment, brokering or services referred to in Article 1;

(b) the payment is not directly or indirectly received by a person or entity referred to in paragraph 1,

and after notification by the relevant Member State of the intention to make or receive such payments or to authorise, where appropriate, the unfreezing of funds or economic resources for this purpose, 10 working days prior to such authorisation.

7. With regard to Korea National Insurance Corporation (KNIC):

(a) The relevant Member States may authorise the receipt by Union persons and entities of payments by KNIC provided that:

(i)

the payment is due:

(a)

in accordance with the provisions of a contract for insurance services provided by KNIC necessary for the activities of the Union person or entity in the DPRK, or

(b)

in accordance with the provisions of a contract for insurance services provided by KNIC in respect of damage caused within the territory of the Union by any party to such a contract;

(ii)

the payment is not directly or indirectly received by a person or entity referred to in paragraph 1; and

(iii)

the payment is not directly or indirectly related to activities prohibited under this Decision.

(b) The relevant Member State may authorise Union persons and entities to make payments to KNIC exclusively for the purpose of obtaining insurance services necessary for the activities of such persons or entities in the DPRK, provided that those activities are not prohibited under this Decision.

(c) No such authorisation shall be required for payments by or to KNIC which are necessary for the official purposes of a diplomatic or consular mission of a Member State in the DPRK.

(d) Paragraph 1 shall not prevent KNIC from making a payment due under a contract concluded before its listing, provided that the relevant Member State has determined that:

(i)

the contract is not related to any of the prohibited items, materials, equipment, goods, technologies, assistance, training, financial assistance, investment, brokering or services referred to in this Decision;

(ii)

the payment is not directly or indirectly received by a person or entity referred to in paragraph 1.

A Member State shall inform the other Member States of any authorisation granted pursuant to this paragraph.

Article 28

Point (d) of Article 27(1) shall not apply with respect to funds, other financial assets or economic resources that are required to carry out the activities of the DPRK's missions to the UN and its specialised agencies and related organisations or other diplomatic and consular missions of the DPRK, or to any funds, other financial assets or economic resources that the Sanctions Committee determines in advance on a case-by-case basis are required for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, denuclearisation or any other purpose consistent with the objectives of UNSCR 2270 (2016).

Article 29

1. Representative offices of entities listed in Annex I shall be closed.

2. The direct or indirect participation in joint ventures or any other business arrangements by entities listed in Annex I, as well as persons or entities acting for or on their behalf, is prohibited.