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<p>Council Regulation (EU) 2016/44 of 18 January 2016 imposes an asset freeze against
a number of listed individuals and entities associated with the Libyan Government.
The EU regulation, which has direct effect in the UK, requires that all assets owned
or controlled by listed persons are frozen.</p><p> </p><p>Frozen funds cannot be accessed
except under the authority of HM Treasury, the competent authority for the implementation
and enforcement of financial sanctions in the UK. Where an asset freeze is in place,
it is a criminal offence to release the frozen funds or deal with them without a licence
from the Official of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), which is part of HM
Treasury.</p><p> </p><p>OFSI will only consider licensing the release of frozen funds
if the activity falls within the licensing grounds available in the legislation. OFSI’s
policy is to preserve the value of misappropriated government assets and it takes
this into consideration when applying the EU and UK sanctions regime licensing grounds.</p><p>
</p><p>OFSI also undertakes an annual frozen asset review requiring all persons or
institutions that hold or control frozen funds in the UK to report to OFSI. This reporting
exercise ensures our records reflect any changes to the level of frozen assets made
during the reporting period.</p>
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