General licence – IOM/2022/RUS018
The Treasury has the power to issue General Licences for financial and trade sanctions regimes under a number of Regulations.
On 11 May 2022, the Treasury issued General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018 under regulation 21 of the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021, as they extend to the Island by the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions (Isle of Man) Order 2021 [SI 2021/526] (‘the GAC Regulations’) and regulation 64 of the Russia Sanctions (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, as they apply to the Isle of Man by the Russia Sanctions (Application) Regulations 2020 [SD 2020/0504] (‘the Russia Regulations’).
The financial restrictions imposed by the GAC Regulations and Russia Regulations are not applicable to Crown Relevant Organisations, as defined in General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018, and therefore the acts of these bodies of are not required to be authorised by the licence.
Under General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018, subject to the conditions set out in that licence, an officer of a Non-Crown Relevant Organisation is permitted to carry out their duties including through making use of powers available to them under IOM legislation for Asset Recovery Purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, powers made available under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2008, Anti-terrorism, Crime Act 2003 and the Proceeds of Crime (External requests and orders) Order 2009.
Under General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018, subject to the conditions set out in that licence, persons may carry out any action necessary to comply with or otherwise give effect to any of the following:
- An IOM court order obtained by or on behalf of a Relevant Organisation for Asset Recovery Purposes
- A forfeiture order given by an officer of a Relevant Organisation or
- The types of external order referred to at paragraphs 4.2 (c) – (d) of General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018
The General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018, also permits, subject to the conditions set out in that licence, persons to carry out any action necessary to comply with or otherwise give effect to any of the following for Asset Recovery Purposes:
- A negotiated settlement to which a Relevant Organisation is a party or
- An approved deferred prosecution agreement to which a Crown Relevant Organisation is a party
The permissions in General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018 do not authorise any act which the person carrying out the act knows, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting, will result in funds or economic resources being dealt with or made available in breach of the GAC Regulations or Russia Regulations, save as permitted under licences granted under The GAC Regulations and Russia Regulations.
The General Licence takes effect from the date of issue and is of indefinite duration.
It may be varied, revoked, or suspended by Treasury at any time.
Prior authorisation requirement
Any persons intending to conduct activity permitted under General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018 on behalf of an organisation not explicitly named in the licence must request authorisation from Treasury in writing prior to undertaking any such activity. Such request (which can be sent to customs@gov.im) must provide Treasury with details of the activity that the organisation requesting authorisation intends to undertake pursuant to that authorisation, along with valid contact details. The submission of such a request does not constitute confirmation by Treasury that the authorisation sought will be granted.
Reporting requirement
Any dealing with a designated person’s assets conducted under General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018 must be reported to the FIU within 28 days in line with paragraph 5 of General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018, with details and supporting evidence.
Record-keeping requirements
Persons must keep accurate, complete and readable records, on paper or electronically, of any activity purporting to have been permitted under this licence for a minimum of 6 years. In line with paragraph 6 of General Licence IOM/2022/RUS018.
Further details of the sanctions regime related to Russia may be found on the Customs and Excise pages of the Isle of Man Government website.
