The Belarus (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2006

Statutory Instruments

2006 No. 1909

OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

The Belarus (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2006

Made

19th July 2006

Laid before Parliament

20th July 2006

Coming into force

21st July 2006

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 19th day of July 2006

Present,

The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers vested in Her by section 112 of the Saint Helena Act 1833(1), the British Settlements Acts 1887 and 1945(2), and of all other powers enabling Her to do so, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:–

INTRODUCTORY

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Belarus (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2006 and shall come into force on 21st July 2006.

(a) This Order shall extend to the territories listed in Schedule 1.

(b) Article 9 shall apply to the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia as set out in Schedule 2.

(c) In the application of this Order to any of the said territories the expression “the Territory” in this Order means that territory.

(2) Articles 3, 4 and 5 shall apply to any person within the Territory and to any person elsewhere who is:

(a) a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British Overseas citizen, a British subject, a British National (Overseas), or a British protected person and is ordinarily resident in the Territory; or

(b) a body incorporated or constituted under the law of the Territory.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order, the following expressions have, except where otherwise expressly provided, the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say –

“document” includes information recorded in any form, and in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, references to its production include references to producing a copy of the information in legible form;

“funds, financial assets or economic resources” means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, however acquired, and legal documents or instruments in any form, including electronic or digital, evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets, including, but not limited to, bank credits, travellers' cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts and letters of credit;

“Governor” means the Governor or other officer administering the Government of the Territory;

“listed person” means members of the leadership and certain officials of Belarus, or any natural or legal person, entity or body associated with them, as listed in Annex IV (as modified from time to time) to Council Common Position 2006/276/CFSP, adopted by the Council of the European Union on 10 April 2006, as amended by Council Common Position 2006/362/CFSP adopted by the Council on 18 May 2006 ;

“relevant institution” means—

(a)

the person or body responsible for carrying out in the Territory the functions of a monetary authority;

(b)

any person who may lawfully accept deposits in or from within the Territory by way of business; and

(c)

any society established lawfully in the Territory whose principal purpose is the making of loans secured on residential property where such loans are funded substantially by its members;

“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation;

“Supreme Court” means the court of the Territory having unlimited jurisdiction in civil proceedings;

“vehicle” means land transport vehicle.

(2) For the purpose of the definition of “relevant institution” in paragraph (1) –

(a) the activity of accepting deposits has the meaning given in any relevant order made under section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(3); and

(b) a person is not regarded as accepting deposits by way of business if—

(i) he does not hold himself out as accepting deposits on a day to day basis, and

(ii) any deposits which he accepts are accepted only on particular occasions, whether or not involving the issue of any securities.

(3) In determining for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b)(ii) whether deposits are accepted only on particular occasions, regard is to be had to the frequency of those occasions and to any characteristics distinguishing them from each other.

(4) For the purpose of identifying a “listed person” referred to in paragraph (1), the Governor shall cause a notice containing the names and other particulars of such listed persons to be published in the Gazette of the Territory as necessary from time to time.

FUNDS, FINANCIAL ASSETS OR ECONOMIC RESOURCES

Freezing of funds, financial assets or economic resources or making them available to any listed person

3.  Any person who, except under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor under this article:

(1) deals with funds, financial assets or economic resources owned, held or controlled by a listed person, or

(2) makes any funds, financial assets or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of any listed person,

shall be guilty of an offence under this Order:

Provided that in any proceedings for an offence under this article, it is a defence for a person to show that he did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect, as the case may be, that he was dealing with funds, financial assets or economic resources owned, held or controlled by a listed person, or that he was making funds, financial assets or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of a listed person;

• Provided further that a person or a relevant institution is not guilty of an offence under this article or article 4 if he or it credits an account of a listed person with interest or other earnings on the account, or in the case of a relevant institution, with funds transferred from a third party, provided the institution informs the Governor without delay.

Directions for freezing of funds, financial assets or economic resources

4.—(1) Where the Governor has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person by, for or on behalf of whom any funds, financial assets or economic resources are held is or may be a listed person, the Governor may by notice direct that those funds, financial assets or economic resources are not to be made available to any person, except under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor under article 3.

(2) A direction given under paragraph (1) shall specify either—

(a) the period for which it is to have effect; or

(b) that the direction is to have effect until it is revoked by notice under paragraph (3).

(3) The Governor may by notice revoke a direction given under paragraph (1) at any time.

(4) The expiry or revocation of a direction shall not affect the application of article 3 in respect of the funds, financial assets or economic resources in question.

(5) A notice under paragraph (1) or (3) shall be given in writing to the person holding the funds, financial assets or economic resources in question (“the recipient”), and shall require the recipient to send a copy of the notice without delay to the person whose funds, financial assets or economic resources they are, or on whose behalf they are held (“the owner”).

(6) A recipient shall be treated as complying with that requirement if, without delay, he sends a copy of the notice to the owner at his last-known address or, if he does not have an address for the owner, he makes arrangements for a copy of the notice to be supplied to the owner at the first available opportunity.

(7) Where a direction has been given under paragraph (1), any person by, for or on behalf of whom those funds, financial assets or economic resources are held may apply to the Supreme Court for the direction to be set aside; and on such application the court may set aside the direction.

(8) A person who makes an application under paragraph (7) shall give a copy of the application and any witness statement or affidavit in support to the Governor (and to any other person by, for or on behalf of whom those funds, financial assets or economic resources are held), not later than seven days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application.

(9) Any person who contravenes a direction under paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence under this Order.

(10) A recipient who fails to comply with such a requirement as is mentioned in paragraph (5) is guilty of an offence under this Order.

Facilitation of activities prohibited under article 3 or 4(9)

5.  Any person who knowingly and intentionally engages in any activities the object or effect of which is to enable or facilitate the commission (by that person or another) of an offence under article 3 or 4(9) is guilty of an offence under this Order.

Failure to disclose knowledge or suspicion of measures

6.—(1) A relevant institution is guilty of an offence if:

(a) it knows or suspects that a person who is, or has been at any time since the coming into force of this Order, a customer of the institution, or is a person with whom the institution has had dealings in the course of its business since that time:

(i) is a listed person; or

(ii) has committed an offence under article 3, 4(9) or 7(2); and

(b) it does not disclose to the Governor the information or other matter on which the knowledge or suspicion is based as soon as is reasonably practicable after that information or other matter comes to its attention.

(2) Where a relevant institution discloses to the Governor:

(a) its knowledge or suspicion that a person is a listed person or a person who has committed an offence under article 3, 4(9) or 7(2), or

(b) any information or other matter on which that knowledge or suspicion is based,

the disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction imposed by statute or otherwise.

GENERAL

Offences in connection with applications for licences, conditions attaching to licences, etc

7.—(1) If for the purposes of obtaining any licence under this Order any person makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which to his knowledge is false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which is false in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Order, and any licence so obtained shall be void as from the time it was granted.

(2) Any person who has done any act under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor under this Order and who fails to comply with any conditions attaching to that licence shall be guilty of an offence under this Order:

Provided that no person shall be guilty of an offence under this paragraph where he proves that the condition with which he failed to comply was modified, otherwise than with his consent, by the Governor after the doing of the act authorised by the licence.

Obtaining of evidence and information

8.  The provisions of Schedule 3 shall have effect in order to facilitate the obtaining, by or on behalf of the Governor:

(a) of evidence or information for the purpose of securing compliance with or detecting evasion of:

(i) this Order in the Territory; or

(ii) any law making provision with respect to the matters regulated by this Order that is in force in the United Kingdom, any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man or any British overseas territory; and

(b) of evidence of the commission of—

(i) in the Territory, an offence under this Order or, with respect to any of the matters regulated by this Order, an offence relating to customs; or

(ii) with respect to any of those matters, an offence under the law of the United Kingdom, any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man or any British overseas territory.

Penalties and Proceedings

9.—(1) Any person guilty of an offence under article 3, 4(9) or 5 shall be liable:

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence under paragraph 5(b) or (d) of Schedule 3 shall be liable –

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(3) Any person guilty of an offence under article 7(1) or (2) shall be liable:

(a) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent.

(4) Any person guilty of an offence under article 4(10), 6(1) or paragraph 5(a) or (c) of Schedule 3 shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent or to both.

(5) Where any body corporate is guilty of an offence under this Order, and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(6) Summary proceedings for an offence under this Order, being an offence alleged to have been committed outside the Territory, may be instituted at any time not later than 12 months from the date on which the person charged first enters the Territory after committing the offence.

(7) Proceedings against any person for an offence under this Order may be taken before the appropriate court in the Territory having jurisdiction in the place where that person is for the time being.

(8) No proceedings for an offence under this Order shall be instituted in the Territory except by or with the consent of the principal public officer of the Territory having responsibility for criminal prosecutions:

Provided that this paragraph shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue or execution of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of such an offence, or the remand in custody or on bail of any person charged with such an offence, notwithstanding that the necessary consent to the institution of proceedings for the offence has not been obtained.

Exercise of powers of the Governor

10.—(1) The Governor may to such extent and subject to such restrictions and conditions as he may think proper, delegate or authorise the delegation of any of his powers under this Order (other than the power to give authority under Schedule 3 to apply for a search warrant) to any person, or class or description of persons, approved by him, and references in this Order to the Governor shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Any licences granted under this Order shall be in writing and may be either general or special, may be subject to or without conditions, may be limited so as to expire on a specified date unless renewed and may be varied or revoked by the authority that granted them.

Miscellaneous

11.—(1) Any provision of this Order which prohibits the doing of a thing except under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor shall not have effect in relation to any such thing done anywhere other than the Territory provided that it is duly authorised.

(2) A thing is duly authorised for the purpose of paragraph (1) if it is done under the authority of a licence granted in accordance with any law in force in the place where it is done (being a law substantially corresponding to the relevant provisions of this Order) by the authority competent in that behalf under that law.

A.K.Galloway

Clerk of the Privy Council

Article 1(1)(a)

SCHEDULE 1 TERRITORIES TO WHICH THIS ORDER EXTENDS

• Anguilla

• British Antarctic Territory

• British Indian Ocean Territory

• Cayman Islands

• Falkland Islands

• Montserrat

• Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

• St. Helena and Dependencies

• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

• The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus

• Turks and Caicos Islands

• Virgin Islands

Article 1(1)(b)

SCHEDULE 2 APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 9 TO THE SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS OF AKROTIRI AND DHEKELIA IN THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS

1.—(1) Any person who commits an offence under article 3, 4(9) or 5, or paragraph 5(b) or (d) of Schedule 3, shall be liable on conviction:

(a) if tried on information before the Senior Judge’s Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or to a fine, or to both;

(b) if tried before the Judge’s Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent, or to both.

2.  Any person who commits an offence under article 7(1) or (2) is guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both.

3.  Any person who commits an offence under paragraph (5)(a) or (c) of Schedule 3, is guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent, or to both.

4.  Any person who commits an offence under article 4(10) or 6(1) is guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or its equivalent, or to both.

5.  Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under this Order, and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

6.  Proceedings for a misdemeanour under this Order, being an offence alleged to have been committed outside the Territory, may be instituted at any time not later than 12 months from the date on which the person charged first enters the Territory after committing the offence.

7.  Proceedings against any person for an offence under this Order may be taken before the appropriate court in the Territory having jurisdiction in the place where that person is for the time being.

8.  No proceedings for an offence under this Order shall be instituted in the Territory except by or with the consent of the principal public officer of the Territory having responsibility for criminal prosecutions:

Provided that this paragraph shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue or execution of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of such an offence, or the remand in custody or on bail of any person charged with such an offence, notwithstanding that the necessary consent to the institution of proceedings for the offence has not been obtained.

Article 8

SCHEDULE 3 EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION

1.—(1) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Order, or any provision of any other law, the Governor may request any person in or resident in the Territory to furnish to him any information in his possession or control, or to produce to him any document in his possession or control, which he may require for the purpose of securing compliance with or detecting evasion of this Order; and any person to whom such a request is made shall comply with it within such time and in such manner as may be specified in the request.

(2) Nothing in the foregoing sub-paragraph shall be taken to require any person who has acted as counsel or solicitor for any person to furnish or produce any privileged information or document in his possession in that capacity.

(3) Where a person is convicted of failing to furnish information or produce a document when requested so to do under this paragraph, the court may make an order requiring him, within such period as may be specified in the order, to furnish the information or produce the document.

(4) The power conferred by this paragraph to request any person to produce documents shall include power to take copies of or extracts from any document so produced and to request that person, or, where that person is a body corporate, any other person who is a present or past officer of, or is employed by, the body corporate, to provide an explanation of any of them.

(5) The furnishing of any information or the production of any document under this paragraph shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction imposed by statute or otherwise.

2.—(1) If any judge, justice of the peace or magistrate is satisfied by information on oath given by any police officer, constable or person authorised by the Governor to act for the purposes of this paragraph either generally or in a particular case:

(a) that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence under this Order or, with respect to any of the matters regulated by this Order, an offence relating to customs, has been or is being committed and that evidence of the commission of the offence is to be found on any premises specified in the information, or in any vehicle, ship or aircraft so specified, or

(b) that any documents which ought to have been produced under paragraph 1 and have not been produced are to be found on any such premises or in any such vehicle, ship or aircraft,

he may grant a search warrant authorising any police officer or constable, together with any other persons named in the warrant and any other police officers or constables, to enter the premises specified in the information or, as the case may be, any premises upon which the vehicle, ship or aircraft so specified may be, at any time within one month from the date of the warrant and to search the premises, or as the case may be, the vehicle, ship or aircraft.

(2) Any authorised person who has entered any premises or any vehicle, ship or aircraft in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) may do any or all of the following things:

(a) inspect and search those premises or the vehicle, ship or aircraft for any material which he has reasonable grounds to believe may be evidence in relation to an offence referred to in this paragraph;

(b) seize anything on the premises or on the vehicle, ship or aircraft which he has reasonable grounds for believing is evidence in relation to an offence referred to in this paragraph;

(c) seize anything on the premises or on the vehicle, ship or aircraft which he has reasonable grounds to believe are required to be produced in accordance with paragraph 1; or

(d) seize anything that is necessary to be seized in order to prevent it being concealed, lost, damaged, altered or destroyed.

(3) Any information required in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) which is contained in a computer and is accessible from the premises or from any vehicle, ship or aircraft must be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.

(4) A police officer or constable lawfully on the premises or on the vehicle, ship or aircraft by virtue of a warrant issued under sub-paragraph (1) may—

(a) search any person whom he has reasonable grounds to believe may be in the act of committing an offence referred to in this paragraph; and

(b) seize anything he finds in a search referred to in paragraph (a), if he has reasonable grounds for believing that it is evidence of an offence referred to in this paragraph:

Provided that no person shall be searched in pursuance of this sub-paragraph except by a person of the same sex.

(5) Where, by virtue of this paragraph a person is empowered to enter any premises, vehicle, ship or aircraft he may use such force as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.

(6) Any documents or articles of which possession is taken under this paragraph may be retained for a period of three months or, if within that period there are commenced any proceedings for an offence referred to in this paragraph to which they are relevant, until the conclusion of those proceedings.

3.  A person authorised by the Governor to exercise any power for the purposes of this Schedule shall, if requested to do so, produce evidence of his authority before exercising that power.

4.  No information furnished or document produced (including any copy of an extract made of any document produced) by a person in pursuance of a request made under this Schedule and no document seized under paragraph 2(2) shall be disclosed except—

(a) with the consent of the person by whom the information was furnished or the document was produced or the person from whom the document was seized: provided that a person who has obtained information or is in the possession of a document only in his capacity as servant or agent of another person may not give consent for the purposes of this sub-paragraph but such consent may instead be given by any person who is entitled to that information or to the possession of that document in his own right;

(b) to any person who would have been empowered under this Schedule to request that it be furnished or produced, or to any person holding or acting in any office under or in the service of—

(i) the Crown in respect of the Government of the United Kingdom,

(ii) the Government of the Isle of Man,

(iii) the States of Guernsey or Alderney or the Chief Pleas of Sark,

(iv) the States of Jersey, or

(v) the Government of any British overseas territory; or

(c) with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any proceedings—

(i) in the Territory, for an offence under this Order or, with respect to any of the matters regulated by this Order, for an offence relating to customs, or

(ii) for any offence under any law making provision with respect to such matters that is in force in the United Kingdom, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or any British overseas territory.

5.  Any person who –

(a) without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails within the time and in the manner specified (or, if no time has been specified, within a reasonable time) to comply with any request made under this Schedule by any person who is empowered to make it; or

(b) furnishes any information or produces any document which to his knowledge is false in a material particular or recklessly furnishes any document or information which is false in a material particular to such a person in response to such a request; or

(c) otherwise wilfully obstructs any person in the exercise of his powers under this Schedule; or

(d) with intent to evade the provisions of this Schedule, destroys, mutilates, defaces, secretes or removes any document,

shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order applies to each of the British overseas territories listed in Schedule 1. It imposes restrictive measures in respect of members of the leadership and certain officials of Belarus responsible for violations of electoral standards and the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus. These measures prohibit making available funds, financial assets or economic resources to listed persons and the freezing of their funds, financial assets or economic resources. The Order gives effect to measures adopted by the European Union in Council Common Position 2006/276/CFSP as amended by Council Common Position 2006/362/CFSP, which were given effect in the European Union by Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006.

(1)

1833 c. 85.

(2)

1887 c. 54 and 1945 c. 7.

(3)

2000 c. 8.