The Al-Qaida and Taliban (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision relating to the enforcement of Council Regulation (E.C) No 881/2002 of 27 May 2002 (O.J. L 139, 29.5.2002, p.9) (“the Council Regulation”) which relate to restrictive measures directed at certain persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden, the Al-Qaida network and the Taliban.

The measures include the freezing of funds, financial assets and economic resources of such persons and ensuring that any funds, financial assets and economic resources are not made available to them.

Regulation 2 defines designated persons as any person named in Annex I to the Council Regulation (as amended from time to time).

Regulations 3 and 4 provide that an offence is committed where a person contravenes prohibitions against dealing with funds and economic resources belonging to designated persons and against making funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of designated persons.

Regulation 5 provides for an offence not to be committed where exceptions to the prohibitions are provided by the Council Regulation. These permit the crediting of frozen accounts with interest and payments due under contracts and obligations entered into before the account became frozen, and permit a relevant institution to credit a frozen account with funds transferred to it.

Regulation 6 provides that it is an offence to circumvent the prohibitions.

Regulation 7 provides a licensing procedure to enable funds and economic resources to be exempted from the prohibitions.

Regulations 9 to 11 contain provisions about penalties, proceedings and who, in relation to bodies corporate and other bodies, may be prosecuted for an offence under the Regulations.

Regulation 13 provides that the provisions of the Regulations apply to the Crown but, in the event of a contravention, the Crown is not criminally liable.

Schedule 1 provides powers for the Treasury to obtain and disclose information.

Schedule 2 amends section 63 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (c.28) so that a person affected by a decision made by the Treasury in connection with the exercise of their functions under these Regulations may apply to the court to have the decision set aside. Amendments are made to certain provisions in the Al-Qa’ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/111) and the Al-Qa’ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) (Amendment) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/251) is revoked. These amendments and revocation replicate those made by the Al-Qaida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2952). This Order was quashed by the Supreme Court on 4 February 2010 in the case of Her Majesty’s Treasury v Mohammed Jabar Ahmed and others [2010] UKSC 2, and is formally revoked by these Regulations.

A list of designated persons is available on the Internet at: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/fin_sanctions_index

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business may be obtained from the Asset Freezing Unit, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ and is also available on HM Treasury’s website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk) and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk).