Towards a Directive on criminal penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures

Summary:

Communication adopted by the European Commission on 25 May 2022, setting out its vision for a Directive addressing potential criminal penalties for the violation of restrictive measures imposed by the European Union (EU).

Further information:

Restrictive measures are seen as an essential tool for the promotion of the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), as set out in Article 21 TEU. For the sake of preserving core values, the EU may impose restrictive measures against third countries, entities or individuals. These include targeted individual measures, as well as sectoral measures. Some of the regimes of measures implement measures by the United Nations (UN) Security Council and in some cases impose additional restrictions; others are adopted autonomously by the EU. In addition to country-specific situations, the EU has also adopted horizontal regimes.

In the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU imposed a number of sanctions against Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies, as well as sectoral measures. In order to enhance EU-level coordination in the enforcement of such measures, the European Commission set up the Freeze and Seize Task Force. This team was also tasked with exploring the interplay between restrictive measures and criminal law measures.

This Communication explore possibilities for a potential future Directive focusing on criminal offences for the violation of EU sanction regimes. These could include: engaging in actions or activities that seek to directly or indirectly circumvent the restrictive measures; failing to freeze funds belonging to, held or controlled by a designated person/entity; or engaging in trade, such as importing or exporting goods covered by trade bans. The Communication was adopted by the Commission on 25 May 2022.

Official

European Commission: Press Release, 25/05/2022: Ukraine: The Commission proposes rules on freezing and confiscating assets of oligarchs violating restrictive measures and of criminals https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_3264

European Commission: Questions and Answers: The Commission proposes rules on freezing and confiscating assets of oligarchs violating restrictive measures and of criminals (25 May 2022) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_22_3265

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