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Financial services
Asset Freezing Unit
The Treasury’s Asset Freezing Unit became operational from 24 October 2007.
Prior to this date, the Bank of England had acted as the Treasury’s agent for the purpose of administering financial sanctions and had maintained its own Financial Sanctions Unit. With the setting up of the new Asset Freezing Unit in the Treasury, the Bank of England’s role in financial sanctions was transferring over to the Treasury.
Responsibilities
The AFU is responsible for:- domestic legislation on financial sanctions;
- the implementation and administration of domestic financial sanctions;
- domestic designation (principally under the Terrorism Order)
- providing advice to Treasury Ministers, on the basis of operational advice, on domestic designation decisions;
- the implementation and administration of international financial sanctions in the UK, including those relating to terriorism, state regimes, proliferation of WMD;
- working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the design of individual financial sanctions regimes and listed decisions at the United Nations and European Union;
- working with international partners to develop the international frameworks for asset freezing;
- licensing exemptions to financial sanctions where permitted.
The AFU
- issues Notices and notifications advising of the introduction, amendment, suspension or lifting of financial sanctions regimes with a view to making bodies and individuals likely to be affected by financial sanctions aware of their obligations;
- provides on the financial sanctions home page of the Treasury website a consolidated list of financial sanctions targets which consists of the names of individuals and entities that have been listed by the United Nations, European Union and/or the United Kingdom under legislation relating to a specific financial sanctions regime. Where there is a legal basis for an asset freeze in the UK, the name of the target will be included in the consolidated list;
- provides on the financial sanctions home page of the Treasury website an investment ban list in relation to the European Union measures against Burma/Myanmar;
- processes applications for licences to release frozen funds or to make funds available to designated/restricted persons;
- responds to reports and queries from financial institutions, companies and members of the public concerning financial sanctions.
