Helfen statt Blockieren

07

Chapter 7 · Glossary

Terms from A to Z

Briefly explained, in the sense used in this magazine.

Read in the magazine (Pages 20 to 22)Download PDF

Asset freeze
Funds and assets of a listed person are frozen; no one may dispose of them.
Basic account
A payment account with basic features to which consumers lawfully resident in the EU are entitled.
Blocking Statute
EU Regulation 2271/96. Prohibits compliance with certain foreign sanctions laws.
Correspondent bank
A bank that processes payments in a foreign currency, such as US dollars, on behalf of another bank.
De-risking
Banks end or refuse relationships with entire groups of customers instead of managing individual risk.
Dual-use goods
Goods that can be used for civilian and military purposes; their export often requires authorisation.
Embargo
A ban on trade with a country, entirely or for certain goods such as arms.
Extraterritorial effect
A law is meant to apply outside the state that enacted it.
General licence
A general permission from an authority such as OFAC for a group of transactions, without an individual application.
Humanitarian exemption
A rule under which humanitarian aid is permitted despite sanctions; also called a carve-out.
Listing
Adding a person or company to a sanctions list, with name and grounds.
Making available, ban on
A prohibition on providing funds or economic resources to listed persons, directly or indirectly.
OFAC
Office of Foreign Assets Control, the sanctions authority in the US Treasury Department.
Over-compliance
Doing more than sanctions require, out of fear of penalties.
Remittance
Money that people abroad send to their families at home; in Spanish remesa.
Secondary sanction
A threat of penalties against third parties who do business with a sanctioned country or listed person.
Snapback
The reinstatement of earlier UN sanctions against Iran under the procedure of Resolution 2231.
Unilateral coercive measures
UN term for sanctions imposed by individual states or groups of states without a Security Council decision.

Evidence

Sources

All sources with dates. Online sources accessed on 2 and 3 November 2026.

  1. African Union: Amani Africa, “Informal consultation with countries in transition”, 16 Dec 2025; JURIST, February 2026 (Sudan).
  2. Agence Europe: “EU introduces exceptions to sanctions to facilitate humanitarian activities in Ukraine”, 14 Apr 2022; “European Union introduces new 12-month exemptions to its sanctions”, 19 Feb 2024.
  3. Akin Gump and Cleary Gottlieb: client alerts on OFAC Venezuela General License 46, Jan 2026.
  4. Al Jazeera, 8 Mar 2022 (Russia, list of unfriendly states); HortiDaily, 22 Sep 2026 (import ban until 31 Dec 2028).
  5. Al Jazeera: report on the BNP Paribas settlement with US authorities, 30 Jun 2014.
  6. Amnesty International: “Cuba: a un año de excarcelaciones selectivas, exigimos libertad inmediata para las personas presas por motivos políticos”, 19 Jan 2026.
  7. AnJie Broad via China Law Vision, “China’s Counter-Sanctions Measures: An Up-to-Date Overview”, 14 Aug 2026; GTAI, China halts dual-use goods to Japan, January 2026; Pillsbury, 13 Nov 2025.
  8. Asharq Al-Awsat, “Iran Imposes Sanctions on EU, UK”, 25 Apr 2023.
  9. ASIL, UN Security Council removes Syrian officials from sanctions list (Resolution 2799 of 6 Nov 2025).
  10. Australia: DFAT, Sanctions snapshot, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  11. Baker McKenzie Sanctions News: “U.S. declares national emergency with respect to Cuba and threatens new tariffs on countries supplying oil”, 4 Feb 2026 (on EO 14380 of 29 Jan 2026).
  12. Bloomberg Línea: “Cómo se explica la salida de Western Union de Cuba”, 10 Feb 2025; “Cuba padece su sexto apagón eléctrico nacional en 2026”, 3 Aug 2026.
  13. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney: “US becomes first UN member state to implement and exceed requirements to provide humanitarian carve-outs”, on the OFAC action of 20 Dec 2022.
  14. Canada: Global Affairs Canada, Current sanctions imposed by Canada; Syria page of 31 Jul 2026.
  15. Charter of the United Nations, Arts. 25 and 41. Treaty on European Union, Arts. 29 and 31; Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Art. 215.
  16. CiberCuba: “OCDH responds to UN rapporteur”, 25 Nov 2025.
  17. Congressional Research Service: IN11116, The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance and the Crisis in Venezuela, 11 Dec 2019.
  18. Council of the EU: “Humanitarian action: EU introduces further exceptions to sanctions”, 27 Nov 2023 (via ReliefWeb).
  19. Court of Justice of the EU (Grand Chamber): judgment of 21 Dec 2021, Bank Melli Iran, C-124/20, ECLI:EU:C:2021:1035.
  20. Diario Libre (EFE): “El CUC dejará de circular en Cuba el 1 de enero”, 10 Dec 2020.
  21. EU Sanctions Helpdesk: lifting of economic sanctions on Syria, 28 May 2025. EU Sanctions Map, www.sanctionsmap.eu.
  22. European Banking Authority (EBA): press release on the opinion on de-risking, 5 Jan 2022 (EBA/Op/2022/01); press release on Guidelines EBA/GL/2023/04, 31 Mar 2023.
  23. Finanssivalvonta (Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority): release 61/2023 on the EBA guidelines applying from 3 Nov 2023, 2 Nov 2023.
  24. German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs: page “Embargos”, foreign trade law, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  25. Government of Ireland (gov.ie): “Humanitarian exemptions included in EU law”, 31 Mar 2023.
  26. Japan: Ministry of Finance, overview of economic sanctions (gaiyou), as of 2 Oct 2026.
  27. JURIST, ECOWAS lifts sanctions on Niger, 24 Feb 2024.
  28. JURIST: report on the Russian veto of the renewal of the UN panel of experts on North Korea, 28 Mar 2024.
  29. King & Spalding: “New Cuba sanctions present increased sanctions risk for foreign financial institutions”, 6 May 2026 (on the order of 1 May 2026).
  30. LexisNexis Risk Solutions: “True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance”, press release of 26 Sep 2023; report by Finextra.
  31. Mayer Brown: “EU Reintroduces Sanctions Against Iran Following UN Snapback”, 3 Oct 2025; reports on the 20th and 21st Russia packages with Belarus, Apr and Jul 2026.
  32. McCann FitzGerald: “EU-Russia Sanctions Update: 22nd round of EU sanctions”, 30 Oct 2026 (Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/2279).
  33. MSMT (Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team): joint statement of 18 Sep 2026, published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  34. New Zealand: MFAT, Russia Sanctions; SunLive, 17 May 2022.
  35. Norway: DEKSA, Applicable Sanctions, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  36. NTN24: report on the UN General Assembly vote on the US embargo, 28 Oct 2026.
  37. OAS: Resolution AG/RES. 2438 (XXXIX-O/09) of 3 Jun 2009.
  38. OFAC (US Treasury): Venezuela General License 60, Federal Register Doc. 2026-20831, published 13 Oct 2026.
  39. OFAC: Sanctions Programs and Country Information, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  40. OHCHR: end-of-mission statement by Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan on her visit to Cuba, Havana, 21 Nov 2025.
  41. Pajhwok Afghan News: extension of the monitoring team’s mandate, 13 Feb 2026.
  42. Payment Accounts Act (Zahlungskontengesetz, ZKG), Section 31.
  43. Primicias: report on the nationwide power cut in Cuba, 4 Aug 2026.
  44. Progressive Voice Myanmar: reproduction of the Council decision of 27 Apr 2026.
  45. Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of the Council of 22 Nov 1996, OJ L 309, 29 Nov 1996; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100 of 6 Jun 2018; Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 of 13 Nov 2017.
  46. Security Council Report: “Sanctions: Vote on Resolution Establishing a Standing Humanitarian Carve-out”, Dec 2022.
  47. SIPRI: League of Arab States embargo on Syria, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  48. South Korea: Korea JoongAng Daily, 2 Dec 2022; Korea Times, 5 Sep 2024.
  49. Switzerland: SECO, sanctions ordinances, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  50. The National: report on the repeal of the Caesar Act, 17 Dec 2025.
  51. Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act 2000, Public Law 106-387, Title IX. Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR Part 515.
  52. Ukraine: President of Ukraine, decrees synchronising with EU sanctions, 1 Jul 2025.
  53. UN General Assembly: vote on the resolution on the US embargo against Cuba, 28 Oct 2026.
  54. UN Security Council: overview of sanctions committees (Sanctions information), accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  55. UN Security Council: Resolutions 1718 (2006), 1988 (2011), 2615 (2021), 2664 (2022, 9 Dec 2022); press release SC/16491 (2026) on Iran.
  56. United Kingdom: GOV.UK, UK sanctions regimes under the Sanctions Act, accessed 3 Nov 2026.
  57. United Nations: “Secondary sanctions, overcompliance and human rights”, report of the Special Rapporteur, A/78/196, 4 Sep 2023.
  58. World Bank: Remittance Prices Worldwide, home page (as of 18 Aug 2025, accessed 3 Nov 2026); indicator SI.RMT.COST.OB.ZS with target 10.c.