News Release
Financial Sanctions: Ivory Coast

8 February 2006

On 15 November 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1572 concerning the Ivory Coast. This Security Council Resolution introduced financial sanctions against persons designated by the competent United Nations Sanctions Committee.

The Ivory Coast (United Nations Sanctions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/253) (“the Order”), which gives effect to UNSCR 1572, came into force on 11 February 2005.

The European Community has adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 560/2005 of 12 April 2005, which implements UNSCR 1572 at Community level. This EC Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (O.J. L95, p.1) on 14 April 2005.

On 7 February 2006 the United Nations Sanctions Committee, established pursuant to resolution 1572 (2004), published the first list of persons designated as constituting a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process in the Ivory Coast. Those listed therefore fall within the UK financial sanctions regime under the Order. No funds or economic resources are to be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of the listed persons. Financial institutions must check whether they maintain any accounts or otherwise hold any funds for the listed persons and, if so, they should freeze the accounts or other funds and report the accounts or other funds and amounts to the Bank of England.

The Bank of England has today issued a Notice on the Ivory Coast, which gives guidance on certain aspects of the Order. The Annex to the Bank’s Notice details those listed by the Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 1572.

Copies of the Bank’s Notice and the EC Regulation are available from the Financial Sanctions pages of the Bank of England.