Prohibition against providing financial services or transferring assets or resources for procurement of certain minerals, etc.
6.—(1) Except with the prior written approval of the Authority, a financial institution must not, directly or indirectly (including through any provider of any brokering or other intermediary services) —
(a)
provide any financial services (including but not limited to the granting of export credits, guarantees, insurance or re‑insurance) or any other related services;
[S 481/2017 wef 31/08/2017]
(b)
transfer (including through a gold courier transiting to and from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) any financial assets or resources (including bulk cash or gold); or
[S 481/2017 wef 31/08/2017]
(c)
transfer other assets or resources,
to a person which relates to any activity specified in paragraph (2).
[S 481/2017 wef 31/08/2017]
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the activities are —
(a)
the procurement of coal, iron, iron ore, gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, or rare earth minerals from —
(i)
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; or
(ii)
any person in or national of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;
[S 637/2017 wef 04/11/2017]
(b)
the owning, leasing, operating or controlling of any vessel, including through illicit means, by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; or
[S 481/2017 wef 31/08/2017]
[S 637/2017 wef 04/11/2017]
(c)
the owning, leasing, operating or chartering of any vessel flagged by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
[S 637/2017 wef 04/11/2017]
(3) In proceedings for an offence of contravening paragraph (1) —
(a)
it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the financial institution knew or had reason to believe that the financial services or other related services, financial assets or resources, or other assets or resources (as the case may be) relate to any activity specified in paragraph (2); and
(b)
it is a defence for the financial institution to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the financial institution did not know, and could not by the exercise of due diligence have known, that the financial services or other related services, financial assets or resources, or other assets or resources (as the case may be) relate to any activity specified in paragraph (2).