Government publishes Sanctions and AML Bill: exceptions and licenses Policy Note

In support of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, the FCO has published out a Policy Note which describes the government’s intended approach to:

• licensing applications in relation to asset freezes, including how it intends to deal with applications it can foresee, general licenses and common grounds for application;
• maintaining a similar framework to the current one where possible;
• aligning licensing arrangements for domestic counter-terrorism sanctions with international ones; and
• generally maintaining the strategy of granting licences provided certain conditions are met for obligations under existing contracts.

The Note also confirms that the UK government intends to continue with an exemptions and licences approach after Brexit.

Meanwhile, the Bill started the remaining stages of its passage through Parliament with its third reading and report stage in the Commons.