Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of funds frozen of Yemeni institutions and individuals in the Bank of England.

Responsibility for the implementation of financial sanctions transferred from the Bank of England to Her Majesty’s Treasury in 2007. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), which is part of HM Treasury, ensures that financial sanctions are properly understood and implemented in the UK. It is for holders of assets subject to sanctions to ensure that they are frozen under the regulations.

The Yemen sanctions regime imposes an asset freeze against five individuals. Details of the Yemen regime, including the designated persons, can be publicly accessed on GOV.UK at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-yemen.

OFSI undertakes an Annual Review of frozen assets in the UK, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI. As of 28 September 2018, the value of frozen funds associated with designated persons on the Yemen regime was some £3,500,000 (see OFSI Annual Review 2018 – 2019, available at: https://gov.uk/ofsi.) HM Treasury does not provide a breakdown of the value of frozen assets held by certain individuals or entities, nor does it provide detailed information of frozen assets associated with specific designated persons.