Financial Sanctions Notice: draft Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 202-

The Minister for External Relations and Financial Services (the "Minister") has lodged the draft Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 202- (the "draft Law") which amends the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019 ("SAFL").

The purpose of the draft Law, broadly, is to achieve the following two outcomes:

• to remove the powers within SAFL to implement European Union ("EU") sanctions provisions by Ministerial Order; and
• to improve further SAFL's compliance with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF").

Details on the full range of proposed changes can be found in the Minister's States Assembly proposition to lodge the draft Law. The proposition includes:

• a written Report;
• a human rights assessment in respect of the draft Law;
• an Explanatory Note; and
• the draft Law. 

In particular, we would draw your attention to the following proposed changes:

• General licences: the draft Law would enable UK General Licences to be given full automatic effect in Jersey by Order (currently, this is only possible for the non-asset-freeze elements of a UK General Licence);
• Reporting obligations: When making a sanctions report to the Minister, relevant financial institutions would be required also to include information on any actions taken in compliance with obligations imposed under Article 37 of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 (e.g. the Money Laundering Order). This would be in addition to the already existing requirements to provide the information listed at Article 32(2) of SAFL.
• Power to require information: the draft Law would introduce a power to request information relating to a decision by the Minister on whether to make, vary, or revoke an autonomous terrorist asset-freeze designation made under Part 4 of SAFL; and
• Extra-territorial extent: the draft Law would remove the requirement for an individual to be a UK national, in addition to being ordinarily resident in Jersey, in respect of conduct wholly or partly outside of Jersey. The amended extra-territorial extent provision would apply to individuals ordinarily resident in Jersey, whether or not they were also UK nationals.

The earliest date for debate of the draft Law by the States Assembly is Tuesday 21 March 2023.

Enquiries

We would welcome any comments on queries on the changes proposed by the draft Law. Such enquiries should be addressed to:

Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit

Ministry of External Relations

sanctions@gov.je