STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No. 420 of 2006

REGULATIONS

entitled

European Communities (Democratic Republic of Congo) (Financial Sanctions) Regulations 2006

I, Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Regulation (EC) No. 889/2005 of 13 June 2005¹ and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005² , hereby make the following regulations:

1.   These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Democratic Republic of Congo) (Financial Sanctions) Regulations 2006.

2.   (1)  In these Regulations -

-�Central Bank-� means Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland;

-�Council Regulation 889/2005-� means Council Regulation (EC) No. 889/2005 of 13 June 2005, as amended by;

-�Council Regulation 1183/2005-� means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005, as amended by;

(i)   Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1824/2005 of 9 November 2005³

(ii)   Commission Regulation (EC) No. 84/2006 of 18 January 2006⁴

(2)   A word or expression which is used in these Regulations has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning that it has in Council Regulation 889/2005 or Council Regulation 1183/2005.

3.   Subject to Regulation 4, a person who:

a.   makes a financial transfer concerning the provision of financing or financial assistance related to military activities, including in particular grants, loans and export credit insurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material, or for any grant, sale, supply, or transfer of related technical assistance and other services, directly or indirectly to any person, entity or body in, or for use in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as outlined in Council Regulation 889/2005; or

b.   transfers of funds or economic resources which are frozen by virtue of Council Regulation 1183/2005 shall be guilty of an offence.

4.   Regulation 3 shall not apply in a case where an authorisation in respect of such transfer has been granted in accordance with Article 3 of Council Regulation 889/2005 or Council Regulation 1183/2005.

5.   The Central Bank may, for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of the provisions of these Regulations, give such directions or issue such instructions to a person as it sees fit.

6.   A person who fails to comply with a direction or an instruction issued under Regulation 5 shall be guilty of an offence.

7.   A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

8.   Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first mentioned offence.

9.   The European Communities (Democratic Republic of Congo) (Financial Sanctions) Regulations (No 2) 2005 (S.I. No 890) is revoked.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Statutory Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations provide for penalties for breach of financial sanctions relating to:

(i)       the provision of financial assistance in relation to military activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo as outlined in Council Regulation (EC) No. 889/2005 of 13 June 2005; and

(ii)      the freezing of funds and economic resources of persons acting in violation of the arms embargo with regard to Democratic Republic of Congo as outlined in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005, as amended by various Commission Regulations.

¹ O.J. No. L152, 15.6.2005, p1

² O.J. No. L193, 23.7.2005, p1

³ O.J. No. L294, 10.11.2005, p3

⁴ O.J. No. L14, 19.1.2006, p14