Jersey and the UK have lifted asset freezes on Syrian government bodies, including the defence and interior ministries.

In the latest easing of sanctions on the country, Jersey and the UK have lifted asset freezes on:-

• Syrian government bodies, including the defence and interior ministries,
• Financial services and
• Energy production,

JERSEY ORDER

• Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions – Syria) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2025
• https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/enacted/PDFs/RO-025-2025.pdf
• Also see below

BACKGROUND

• The easing of sanctions comes nearly five months after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by a rebel offensive led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following years of civil war.
• The Foreign Office said sanctions on members of the former Assad regime and those involved in the illicit trade in the drug Captagon would remain.
• Other bodies no longer subject to asset freezes include several media organisations and Syria's intelligence agencies, although these were dissolved after the overthrow of Assad.
• The sanctions were previously imposed on people involved in repressing civilians in Syria, as well as those supporting or benefiting from the Assad regime.
• In March, the UK lifted asset freezes on 24 Syrian bodies previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of civilians, including the Central Bank of Syria, Syrian Arab Airlines and energy companies.
• It is generally prohibited to deal with frozen funds or make funds available to those subject to sanctions.

SOURCE

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ewv7y32r1o

Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions – Syria) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2025

Made  24 April 2025 - Coming into force  25 April 2025

THE MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS makes this Order under Article 3 of the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019 –

1. Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions) (Jersey) Order 2021 amended

This Order amends the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions) (Jersey) Order 2021.

2. Schedule 1 (UK sanctions instruments implemented) amended

In Schedule 1, in the table, in the entry in column 5 in the row labelled “Syria 1”, for the existing text there is substituted “regulations 19(1), 19(2), 19(3), 30(1), 31(1), 32(1), 33(1), 34(1), 34(2), 34(3), 35(1), 37(1), 38(1), 39(1), 40(1), 42(3), 43(1), 44(1), 44(2), 44(3), 45(1), 45(2), 46(2), 46(3), 48(1)”.

3. Schedule 3 (special provisions) amended

In Schedule 3, paragraph 5 (Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019: aircraft offence) is deleted.

4. Citation and commencement

This Order, which comes into force on 25 April 2025, may be cited as the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions—Syria) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2025.

Deputy I.J. Gorst of St. Mary, St. Ouen and St. Peter

Minister for External Relations

Source  24 Apr 2025

Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions – Syria) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2025

• https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/enacted/PDFs/RO-025-2025.pdf