New notable EU asset freeze listings in relation to Belarus and Syria

Alert
|
3 min read

The EU has recently made certain notable EU asset freeze designations in relation to Belarus1 and Syria,2 focusing on various government officials – including President Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus.

The Belarusian and Syrian governments and their ministries are not as such designated. Transactions with non-designated State-owned entities in Belarus or Syria, for example, should therefore not be restricted under EU sanctions, unless the listed individuals are personally involved or derive a benefit from such transactions. As always, due diligence must be applied in relevant dealings to ensure that the EU asset freeze restrictions are not triggered (e.g., through ownership or control by designated persons) or circumvented.

Under the EU asset freeze, all funds and economic resources in the EU belonging to or controlled by the listed persons will be frozen. Furthermore, no funds or economic resources may be made available – directly or indirectly – to or for their benefit. In limited situations, licences may be granted that would authorise such activities. Economic resources are broadly defined to include anything that can be used to obtain funds, goods or services. Standard EU nexus principles apply in relation to the sanctions, as well as typical asset freeze exemptions. All designated individuals are also subject to an EU travel ban.

The 23 new designated individuals are listed below.

Name

Role

Date of listing

Alexandr Grigorievich LUKASHENKO

President of the Republic of Belarus

6.11.2020

Viktor Aleksandrovich LUKASHENKO

National Security Advisor to the President in Belarus, Member of the Security Council

6.11.2020

Igor Petrovich SERGEENKO

Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration in Belarus

6.11.2020

Ivan Stanislavovich TERTEL

Chairman of Belarus State Security Committee KGB, former Chairman of the State Control Committee

6.11.2020

Roman Ivanovich MELNIK

Head of Main Directorate of Law and Order Protection and Prevention at the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs

6.11.2020

Ivan Danilovich NOSKEVICH

Chairman of the Investigative Committee in Belarus

6.11.2020

Alexey Aleksandrovich VOLKOV

Former First Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee, currently Chairman of the State Committee for Forensic Expertise in Belarus

6.11.2020

Sergei Yakovlevich AZEMSHA

Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee in Belarus

6.11.2020

Andrei Fyodorovich SMAL

Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee in Belarus

6.11.2020

Andrei Yurevich PAVLYUCHENKO

Head of Operational-Analytical Center in Belarus

6.11.2020

Igor Ivanovich BUZOVSKI

Belarusian Deputy Minister of Information

6.11.2020

Natalia Nikolayevna EISMONT

Press Secretary of the President of Belarus

6.11.2020

Sergei Yevgenevich ZUBKOV

ALFA Unit Commander in Belarus

6.11.2020

Andrei Alekseevich RAVKOV

Former State Secretary of the Security Council in Belarus

6.11.2020

Petr Petrovich MIKLASHEVICH

Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus

6.11.2020

Bassam TOU’MA/TU’MA

Syrian Minister of oil and mineral resources

6.11.2020

Hassan GHABACHE/GHOBASH/AL-GHABBASH

Syrian Minister of Health

6.11.2020

Ziyad SABBAGH

Syrian Minister of Industry

6.11.2020

Mohammad Hassan QATANA

Syrian Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian reform

6.11.2020

Ghassan ZAMEL/AL-ZAMIL/AL-ZAMEL

Syrian Minister of Electricity

6.11.2020

Mohamad Fayez BARCHA/AL-BARSHA/AL-BARASHA

Syrian Minister of State

6.11.2020

Malloul HUSSEIN/AL-HUSSEIN

Syrian Minister of State

6.11.2020

Mohammad Samir HADDAD

Syrian Minister of State

6.11.2020

 

1 See Council Implementing Regulation 2020/1648 of 6 November 2020 implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Belarus.
2 See Council Implementing Regulation 2020/1649 of 6 November 2020 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria.

 

See also: 

 

This publication is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. This publication is protected by copyright.
© 2020 White & Case LLP

Top