Violation of Union restrictive measures

1. Member States shall ensure that, where it is intentional and in violation of a prohibition or an obligation that constitutes a Union restrictive measure or that is set out in a national provision implementing a Union restrictive measure, where national implementation is required, the following conduct constitutes a criminal offence:

making funds or economic resources available directly or indirectly to, or for the benefit of, a designated person, entity or body in violation of a prohibition that constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

failing to freeze funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person, entity or body in violation of an obligation that constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

enabling designated natural persons to enter into, or transit through, the territory of a Member State, in violation of a prohibition that constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

entering into or continuing transactions with a third State, bodies of a third State or entities or bodies directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a third State or by bodies of a third State, including the award or continued execution of public or concession contracts, where the prohibition or restriction of that conduct constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

trading, importing, exporting, selling, purchasing, transferring, transiting or transporting goods, as well as providing brokering services, technical assistance or other services relating to those goods, where the prohibition or restriction of that conduct constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

providing financial services or performing financial activities, where the prohibition or restriction of that conduct constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

providing services other than those referred to in point (f), where the prohibition or restriction of that conduct constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

circumventing a Union restrictive measure by:

using, transferring to a third party, or otherwise disposing of, funds or economic resources directly or indirectly owned, held, or controlled by a designated person, entity or body, which are to be frozen pursuant to a Union restrictive measure, in order to conceal those funds or economic resources;

providing false or misleading information to conceal the fact that a designated person, entity or body is the ultimate owner or beneficiary of funds or economic resources which are to be frozen pursuant to a Union restrictive measure;

failing by a designated natural person, or by a representative of a designated entity or body, to comply with an obligation that constitutes a Union restrictive measure to report to the competent administrative authorities funds or economic resources within the jurisdiction of a Member State, belonging to, owned, held, or controlled by them;

failing to comply with an obligation that constitutes a Union restrictive measures to provide the competent administrative authorities with information on frozen funds or economic resources or information held about funds or economic resources within the territory of the Member States, belonging to, owned, held or controlled by designated persons, entities or bodies and which have not been frozen, where such information was obtained in the performance of a professional duty;

breaching or failing to fulfil conditions under authorisations granted by competent authorities to conduct activities, which in the absence of such an authorisation amount to a violation of a prohibition or restriction that constitutes a Union restrictive measure;

2. Member States may provide that the following conduct does not constitute a criminal offence:

conduct listed in paragraph 1, points (a), (b) and (h) of this Article, where that conduct involves funds or economic resources of a value of less than EUR 10 000;

conduct listed in paragraph 1, points (d) to (g) and (i) of this Article, where that conduct involves goods, services, transactions or activities of a value of less than EUR 10 000.

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the threshold of EUR 10 000 or more may be met through a series of conduct listed in paragraph 1, points (a), (b), and (d) to (i) of this Article, that is linked and of the same kind, where that conduct is carried out by the same offender.

3. Member States shall ensure that the conduct listed in paragraph 1, point (e) of this Article, constitutes a criminal offence also if committed with serious negligence, at least where that conduct relates to items included in the Common Military List of the European Union or to dual-use items listed in Annex I and IV to Regulation (EU) 2021/821.

4. Nothing in paragraph 1 shall be understood as imposing an obligation on legal professionals to report information that they receive from, or obtain on, one of their clients in the course of ascertaining the legal position of that client or performing the task of defending or representing that client in, or concerning, judicial proceedings, including providing advice on instituting or avoiding such proceedings.

5. Nothing in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be understood as criminalising humanitarian assistance for persons in need or activities in support of basic human needs provided in accordance with the principles of impartiality, humanity, neutrality and independence and, where applicable, with international humanitarian law.

DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1226 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 24 April 2024 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673