The UK has enacted Global Anti-Corruption (GAC) sanctions which gives the UK sanctions programme closer alignment to the ?Magnitsky? sanctions of the United States and Canada. These sanctions are an asset freeze and travel ban regime and additional listings that are subject to an asset freeze should not cause any issues for financial services.

The GAC sanctions complete the work that was started when the UK enacted the Global Human Rights Sanctions in July 2020 by adding corruption, bribery and encompassing misappropriation.

UK legislation

The statutory instrument (SI) follows the UK model and many sections such as Part 3 (Finance), Part 4 (Immigration) and Part 5 (Licences) are similar to other sanctions regimes.

Part 1 Section 4 of the SI sets out the purposes of the regulations as being 'to prevent and combat serious corruption?.

The GAC sanctions cover corruption and as set out in s 4(2) the meaning of corruption is defined as:

(a) bribery; or

(b) misappropriation of property.

The inclusion of misappropriation as a definition of corruption led to the revocation of the UK Misappropriation Sanctions as noted in s.38. Revocations.

Unlike the US and Canadian legislation, the UK SI does not limit the scope of bribery of a foreign official to foreign nationals as set out in s 4.(3):

4.(3) Bribery occurs where

1. A person directly or indirectly offers, promises or gives a financial or other advantage to a foreign public official?(emphasis added).

Section 4(4) clarifies that while the acts covered in 4(3) will have the involvement of a foreign official, the advantage or benefit captured by s 4(3) is not limited to benefiting only a foreign public official as it also captures advantage or benefit that is (or is to be) for another person. (emphasis added).

Part 2 (Designations) has specific reasons under s 6 designation criteria that are concerned with involvement or assistance in or of 'serious corruption?.

Designations

The initial designations have seen 22 individuals added to the GAC sanctions list. According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's press release, the designations target:

• Those involved in the diversion of $230 million of Russian state property through a fraudulent tax refund scheme uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.
• Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta and their associate Salim Essa, for their roles in serious corruption. They were at the heart of a long-running process of corruption in South Africa which caused significant damage to its economy.
• Sudanese businessman Ashraf Seed Ahmed Hussein Ali, for his involvement in the misappropriation of significant amounts of state assets in one of the poorest countries in the world, which has contributed to ongoing instability and conflict.
• Several individuals involved in serious corruption in Latin America, including facilitating bribes to support a major drug trafficking organisation and misappropriation that has led to citizens being deprived of vital resources for development.

Published resources

Alongside the SI, a number of guides and reports were issued by the UK government:

• The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act (SAMLA) s 18 report on offences created by the regulations.
• The consideration of designations note, which sets out the factors that are taken into consideration for designations under the GAC sanctions regime.
• The explanatory memorandum details the purpose and policy aims of the GAC regime.
• The initial list of designations was published, along with an accompanying Financial Sanctions Notice from HM Treasury.