As a result of recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, HM Treasury has published a notification of a revision to its financial sanctions policy that it was required to make in order to align the UK with the rest of the EU.

The revised policy means that any funds arriving in the UK, or in a UK bank anywhere in the world, that have come from or via a designated person based outside the EU, must be frozen in a suspense account, or other separate account, on arrival in the UK bank. A licence from HM Treasury will be needed to release the funds to the intended recipient, which can be applied for following the guidance in part 10.6 of HM Treasury’s frequently asked questions.

The new rules will come into force at midnight on 31 July 2014.

View Financial sanctions: notification of revision of policy, 17 July 2014