Sanctions and asset-freezing law

Background

Issued: 19 July 2019

Last revised: 3 December 2025

Jersey sanctions framework

The Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019 (the SAFL) came in to force on 19 July 2019. 

The Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions) (Jersey) Order 2021 (the Jersey Order) was made under the SAFL on 29 January 2021 and came into force on 12 February 2021.

Both, the SAFL and the Jersey Order, are the Island's key pieces of sanctions legislation, under which it implements all the United Nations Security Council sanctions and the autonomous UK sanctions regimes.

Amendments

Alongside the UK Regulations, the Jersey Order still implements four 'EU claims Regulations' that prohibit the satisfaction of claims affected by UN Security Council Resolutions passed between 1990 and 1994 in relation to Iraq, Libya, Haiti and Serbia and Montenegro. Those 'EU claims Regulations' have not been implemented by the UK under its own sanctions legislation and have instead been retained in EU legislation.

Where any of the UK Statutory Instruments (UK SI) require an asset-freeze, the Jersey Order imposes the standard asset-freeze under Part 3 of the SAFL.

Since 5 December 2025, any non-asset-freezing provision in a relevant UK SI is automatically implemented in Jersey if both of the following conditions are met:

  •  the provision imposes a prohibition or an obligation
  •  the UK SI provides that a person (however described) who contravenes that prohibition or obligation commits a criminal offence.

Offences

The offences for this regime are set out in both the SAFL and the Jersey Order. 

Industry: licences and breaches

A Jersey General Licence, granted by the Minister, allows multiple parties to conduct specified activities that sanctions measures would otherwise restrict. Supervised persons must ensure that their activities are within the scope of the General Licence's terms and that they adhere to all its conditions.

The Minister may also grant a specific licence under the SAFL and/or the Jersey Order.

To apply for a specific sanctions licence, a supervised person must complete the relevant Sanctions form and return it to sanctions@gov.je.

The FSIU provides guidance on sanctions licences and exceptions on the Government of Jersey website Sanctions.

Suspected breaches of sanctions compliance must be reported to the Minister by completing the Sanctions Compliance Reporting Form. Once completed it must be returned to sanctions@gov.je.