The Treasury advises that on 16 October 2023 the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) issued an e-alert following the Court of Appeal's judgement in the case of Mints & others v PJSC National Bank Trust & another. The statement reads:
'The Government is carefully considering the impact of the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Mints & others v PJSC National Bank Trust & another, in particular the Court’s views that PJSC National Bank Trust is ‘controlled’ by Designated Persons by virtue of their political office, noting that the case was not decided on this point.
FCDO would look to designate a public body where possible when designating a public official if FCDO considered that the relevant official was exercising control over the public body.
There is no presumption on the part of the Government that a private entity based in or incorporated in Russia or any jurisdiction in which a public official is designated is in itself sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the relevant official exercises control over that entity.
In the interests of reducing any uncertainty, we are exploring the options available to the Government in clarifying this position further.'
The Treasury remains in contact with the FCDO following the judgement and will share any further information or update once it becomes available.
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact sanctions@gov.im
Further details of the sanctions regime related to Russia and links to other financial sanctions regimes may be found on the Customs and Excise pages of the Isle of Man Government website.
