The Burma (Restrictive Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2009

PROHIBITIONS CONCERNING LISTED ENTERPRISES

Prohibition against financing listed enterprises

15.—(1) Except under the authority of a licence issued by the Governor, a person shall not finance a listed enterprise.

(2) In this article “finance” means—

(a) grant any loan or credit to a listed enterprise;

(b) acquire bonds, certificates of deposit, warrants or debentures issued by any person listed in Annex VII to the Regulation or any person whom the Governor has reasonable grounds for suspecting of being such a person;

(c) acquire or increase a participation or shareholding, including shares or securities of a participating nature, in a listed enterprise;

(3) A person who contravenes the prohibition in paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

(4) Any person who participates, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is, directly or indirectly, to—

(a) circumvent the prohibition in paragraph (1); or

(b) enable or facilitate the commission of an offence under paragraph (3);

shall be guilty of an offence under this Order.

(5) In proceedings for an offence under paragraph (3) or (4), it is a defence for a person to show that they did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the person being financed was a listed enterprise.

(6) Where the Governor has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person is a person listed in Annex V or Annex VII to the Regulation, the Governor may give a direction that the person is a listed enterprise for the purposes of this Order.

(7) The provisions of article 13(2) to (6) inclusive apply to any direction made by the Governor under paragraph (6) as they apply to a direction given under article 13(1).

Prohibition against creating a joint venture

16.—(1) A person shall not create a joint venture with—

(a) a listed enterprise;

(b) a subsidiary enterprise of a listed enterprise; or

(c) a person under the control of a listed enterprise.

(2) A person who contravenes the prohibition in paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under this article, it is a defence for a person to show that they did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the joint venture was being created with a body falling within sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph (1).

Exceptions

17.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person is not guilty of an offence under article 15 if the financing of the listed enterprise takes place pursuant to an obligation, contract or agreement which arose or was concluded before the date on which the enterprise was first listed as indicated in Annex V or Annex VII to the Regulation.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply where the financing of a listed enterprise consists of—

(a) an increase in a participation or shareholding in the enterprise unless the person informs the Governor of their intention to undertake such an increase before it takes place; or

(b) the acquisition of a participation or shareholding in a listed enterprise.

Trade contracts

18.  The prohibition in regulation 15(1) does not apply to—

(a) the execution of trade contracts for the supply of goods or services on usual commercial payment conditions; and

(b) any supplementary agreements connected with the execution of such contracts.