General licences

Licences authorise certain activities or types of transaction that would otherwise be prohibited by asset freezing legislation. In addition to issuing licences relating to a specific person, the Treasury may also issue general licences, which apply to all persons designated under a particular regime or regimes.

Licences are granted where there is a legitimate need for such transactions to proceed and where they can proceed without giving rise to any risk of terrorist finance. This helps to ensure that the asset-freezing regime remains effective, fair and proportionate in its application.

Treasury licences do not determine entitlement to receive specific funds, goods or services. For example, the licence below covering the provision of insurance policies does not require insurance companies to provide insurance services to designated persons. It simply means that where an insurance company enters into a contract to provide an insurance policy to a designated person that particular action will not be a breach of asset-freezing legislation. Similarly, the licence below covering legal aid does not determine entitlement to legal aid. Entitlement to legal aid in the UK remains a matter for the Legal Services Commission. The licence simply means that where a designated person is entitled to legal aid the provision of those funds will not be a breach of asset-freezing legislation.

Terrorism and Terrorist Financing/Al-Qaida

The general licences outlined below apply to designations under the ‘Terrorism and Terrorist Financing’ and ‘Al-Qaida’ regimes. They do not apply to designations under Iran sanctions, or any other country sanctions regime. The general licences are issued under the following authorities:

Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010;
Council Regulation (EC) No. 2580/2001;
The Al-Qaida (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2011; and
Council Regulation (EC) No. 881/2002.

Licences issued under the authority of EC Regulation 881/2002 and The Al-Qaida (Asset-Freezing) Regulations 2011 apply to all persons listed in Annex I to EC Regulation 881/2002, which contains those persons designated by the UN Security Council in accordance with UNSCR 1267 (1999).

Licences issued under the authority of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010 and EC Regulation 2580/2001 apply to all persons designated in accordance with UNSCR 1373 (2001).

The general licences cover the following areas:

Provision of insurance policies to designated persons

This licence allows insurers (including a broker, underwriter or intermediary) to issue an insurance policy of any description to a designated person. Insurers are required to report the issuance of any such policy to HM Treasury without delay at financialsanctions@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk, providing details and the identity of the designated person to whom it has been issued.

The licence does not permit any payment of funds under such policies to the designated person, for which an individual licence would be required.

This licence only applies in respect of persons designated under the Terrorism and Terrorist Financing regime (under UNSCR 1373) since the provision of financial services, such as insurance policies, is only prohibited under this regime and is not prohibited under the Al-Qaida regime.

General licence: Provision of insurance (PDF 80KB)

Provision of goods and payments for amenities and services in respect of valid insurance claims for a temporary period

This licence allows insurers, on a temporary and immediate basis in respect of a valid insurance claim, to make certain goods (for example, courtesy cars) available to a designated person, or to make payments to providers of certain amenities and services (for example, providers of emergency hotel accommodation) for the designated person’s benefit.

An insurer must report to the Treasury at financialsanctions@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk the details of any such goods or payments as soon as practical after becoming aware of the provision or payment.

The licence does not permit the insurer to make any funds available to the designated person, for which an individual licence would be required.

General licence: Temporary provisions under insurance policies (PDF 83KB)

Legal aid payments in respect of designated persons

This licence permits the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to make payments to solicitors representing a designated person where the LSC has assessed that the individual is eligible for legal aid, and for those funds to be applied by the solicitors to meet the legal costs incurred in the course of advising and representing the designated person.

This licence also permits solicitors to deal with Legal Aid from the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) where the GCEU has assessed that the designated person is eligible for European Legal Aid, and for those funds to be applied by the solicitors to meet the legal costs incurred in the course of advising and representing the designated person.

No funds may be made directly available to a designated person under this licence.

General licence: Legal aid (PDF 95KB)

Payment of a designated person’s legal expenses by a third party

This licence allows third parties to pay the legal expenses of a designated person by making payments to solicitors representing them. No funds may be made available to a designated person themselves.

The licence includes a requirement on solicitors receiving funds for the purpose of representing a designated person to report the fact of receipt of such funds (but not the amount) to the Treasury at financialsanctions@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk.

General licence: Legal expenses paid by a third party (PDF 92KB)

Funds of designated persons who are in, or due to be released from, prison

This licence allows funds to be sent to the prison accounts of designated persons, to be held by prison governors, and managed in accordance with normal prison rules.

The licence also makes provision for suitable arrangements to be put in place where a designated person is released from custody.

General licence: Prisons (PDF 86KB)