Media Release
FA184 - 13 December 2002
Freezing of Terrorist Assets in Australia
Revised arrangements for freezing terrorist assets in Australia
come into force today.
UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), passed following the
September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, obliges member
states to freeze terrorist assets.
The deaths of so many young Australians in the 12 October Bali bombings
are a painful reminder of the continued relevance and urgency of
this obligation.
Since 15 October 2001, the Government has used a mechanism contained
in the Charter of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations
2001 to implement this obligation.
These Regulations are now replaced by a new Part 4 of the Charter
of the United Nations Act 1945, and the Charter of the United
Nations (Terrorism and Dealings with Assets) Regulations 2002.
Under the revised mechanism, anybody holding financial or other
assets of persons or entities listed as terrorists by the Minister
for Foreign Affairs in the Commonwealth Gazette is prohibited from
using or dealing with those assets. It is also a criminal offence
to give assets of any kinds to such persons or entities. The penalty
for these offences is five years imprisonment.
The current list, incorporating persons and entities gazetted on
21 December 2001, 20 March 2002, 17 April 2002, 12 June 2002, 28
October 2002 (but excluding names removed from the list on 20 March
2002, 17 April 2002 and 28 October 2002) will continue to apply to
the revised mechanism.
A consolidation of this list is now available on the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade website: http://www.dfat.gov.au/icat/freezing_terrorist_assets.html.
The revised arrangements set out a procedure for people to seek
Australian Federal Police assistance to help determine if there is
a match between the owner of an asset and a person or entity listed
by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Gazette.
It also allows the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to notify
holders and dealers in assets, for example financial institutions,
of new additions to the list.
This revised mechanism further demonstrates the Government's ongoing
commitment to review and revise its anti-terrorism measures in the
light of international developments and experience and in consultation
with key stakeholders in the community.
Media inquiries: Chris Kenny (Ministerial) +61 02 6277 7500 / Julie
McDonald (Departmental) +61 02 6261 1555
Local Date:
Sunday, 05-Jul-2009 12:44:27 EST
