This consolidated text was drawn up by the CSSF for information purposes only. In case of  
discrepancies between the French and the English consolidated texts, the texts published in the  
Journal officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg are the sole authoritative and universally valid  
versions.  
Law of 19 December 2020 on the implementation of  
restrictive measures in financial matters  
(Mém A 2020, No 1072)  
as amended by:  
-
the Law of 20 July 2022 setting up a monitoring committee for restrictives  
measures in financial matters and amending:  
1° Article 506-1 of the Penal Code;  
2° the Law of 19 December 2020 on the implementation of restrictive  
measures in financial matters  
(Mém. A 2022, No 369)  
We Henri, Grand-Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau,  
Having heard our State Council;  
With the consent of the Chambre des Députés;  
Having regard to the decision of the Chambre des Députés of 17  
December 2020 and that of the State Council of 19 December 2020 that  
a second vote is not required;  
Ordered and order:  
Article 1  
The object of this law is the implementation by the Grand Duchy of  
Luxembourg of the restrictive measures in financial matters adopted  
against certain States, natural and legal persons, entities and groups by:  
1° the provisions of resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security  
Council under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations;  
2° the following acts of the European Union:  
a) common positions adopted before 1 December 2009 pursuant to  
Articles 12 and 15 of the Treaty on European Union and for the  
cases referred to in Articles 60(1), 301 and 308 of the Treaty  
establishing the European Community;  
b) decisions adopted since 1 December 2009 pursuant to Articles  
25 and 29 of the Treaty on European Union and for the cases  
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referred to in Articles 75, 215 and 352 of the Treaty on the  
Functioning of the European Union;  
c) regulations adopted before 1 December 2009 pursuant to Article  
249 of the Treaty establishing the European Community or  
decisions taken pursuant to such regulations and for the cases  
referred to in Articles 60(1), 301 and 308 of the Treaty  
establishing the European Community;  
d) regulations adopted since 1 December 2009 pursuant to Article  
288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or  
regulations or decisions adopted pursuant to those regulations  
and for the cases referred to in Articles 75, 215 and 352 of the  
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.  
Article 2  
Without prejudice to the definitions provided for in the resolutions and  
acts referred to in Article 1, where applicable, the terms used in this law  
shall be understood to mean:  
1) "funds" means financial assets and economic advantages of any  
kind, including cash, cheques, claims on money, drafts, money  
orders and other payment instruments, deposits with financial  
institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt  
securities, public or private debt instruments, publicly or privately  
traded securities and shares and other equity securities, certificates  
of title, bonds, promissory notes, warrants, unsecured securities,  
derivative contracts, interest, dividends or other income or capital  
gains received on assets, credit, right of set-off, guarantees,  
performance bonds or other financial commitments, letters of credit,  
bills of lading, sales contracts, as well as any document evidencing  
an interest in a fund or financial resources, and any other instrument  
of export financing;  
2) "economic resources" means assets of any kind, whether tangible or  
intangible, movable or immovable, which are not funds but can be  
used for funds, goods or services;  
3) "vital interests" means the competitive situation in relation to foreign  
countries, and any situation preventing or likely to prevent damage  
to the reputation of an economic sector or the economic place of the  
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;  
4) "Restrictive measures in financial matters" means  
1° The prohibition or restriction of financial activities of any kind;  
2° The prohibition or restriction on the provision of financial  
services, technical assistance, training or advice in relation to a  
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State, natural or legal person, entity or group referred to in this  
law; or  
3° The freezing of funds, assets or other economic resources owned  
or controlled, directly, indirectly or jointly, with or by a person,  
entity or group referred to in this law or by a person acting on  
their behalf or at their direction.  
"Freezing of funds" means, for the purposes of this law, any action  
to prevent any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or  
dealing with funds in any way that would result in any change in  
their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character,  
destination or other change that would enable the use of the funds,  
including portfolio management.  
"Freezing of economic resources" means, under this law, any action  
intended to prevent the use of economic resources to obtain funds,  
goods or services of any kind, including the selling, hiring or  
mortgaging of such funds, goods or services.  
5) "external security" means the security of foreign States or  
international or supranational organisations with which the Grand  
Duchy of Luxembourg pursues common objectives on the basis of  
an international treaty;  
6) "national security" means the independence and sovereignty of the  
State, the security and functioning of institutions, fundamental rights  
and public freedoms, the security of persons and property, the  
scientific and technical potential or the economic interests of the  
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;  
7) "financial services" means any service of a financial nature, including  
insurance and related services and banking and other financial  
services.  
8) "supervisory authorities" means  
a. the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier referred to  
in the Law of 23 December 1998 establishing a financial sector  
supervisory commission (“Commission de surveillance du  
secteur financier”), as amended;  
b. the Commissariat aux Assurances (Insurance Supervisory  
Authority) referred to in the Law of 7 December 2015 on the  
insurance sector, as amended;  
c. the Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la  
TVA (Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority) referred to  
in the Law of 10 August 2018 organising the Administration de  
l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA, as amended;  
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9) "self-regulatory bodies":  
a. The Institut des réviseurs d’entreprises (Institute of Statutory  
Auditors) referred to in Part I, Title II of the Law of 23 July 2016  
on the audit profession, as amended;  
b. the Ordre des experts-comptables (Order of Chartered  
Professional Accountants) referred to in Title II of the Law of 10  
June 1999 on the organisation of the profession of chartered  
professional accountant, as amended;  
c. the Chambre des notaires (Chamber of Notaries) referred to in  
Section VII of the Law of 9 December 1976 on the organisation  
of the notarial profession, as amended;  
d. the bar associations established by the Law of 10 August 1991  
on the legal profession, as amended;  
e. the Chambre des huissiers (Chamber of Court Bailiffs) referred  
to in Chapter VIII of the Law of 4 December 1990 on the  
organisation of the court bailiffs, as amended.  
10) "Credit institution" means any credit institution within the meaning  
of point (1) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the  
European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on  
prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms  
and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, including its branches,  
within the meaning of  
point (17) of Article 4(1) of the  
aforementioned Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, whether its head  
office is situated in the Union or in a third country.  
11) "financial institution" means  
a) direct insurance undertakings and reinsurance undertakings  
with a head office in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which  
have been granted an authorisation in accordance with Article  
14 of Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of  
the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit  
of the business of insurance and reinsurance;  
b) any investment firm within the meaning of point (1) of Article  
4(1)(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and  
of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial  
instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive  
2011/61/EU;  
c) any undertaking for collective investment which markets its  
units or shares;  
d) any branch in Luxembourg of the financial institutions referred  
to in letters (a) to (c), whether their registered office is situated  
in a Member State of the European Union or in a third country.  
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Article 3  
Restrictive measures in financial matters apply to:  
1) natural persons of Luxembourg nationality who reside or operate in  
or from the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or abroad;  
2) legal persons having their registered office,  
a
permanent  
establishment or their centre of main interests on the territory of the  
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and which operate in or from the Grand  
Duchy of Luxembourg or abroad;  
3) branches of Luxembourg legal persons established abroad and  
branches in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of foreign legal  
persons; and  
4) all other natural and legal persons operating on the territory of the  
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.  
Article 4  
(1) The implementing measures necessary for the implementation of  
restrictive measures in financial matters shall be adopted by grand-ducal  
regulation.  
The grand-ducal regulation designates the States, natural and legal  
persons, entities or groups that are subject to restrictive measures in  
financial matters and determines which of the measures referred to in  
“point (4)”1 of Article 2, apply.  
The States, natural and legal persons, entities or groups referred to in  
the grand-ducal regulation may be published on the website of the  
Minister of Finance.  
(2) By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the designation of States,  
natural and legal persons, entities or groups appearing on a list annexed  
to an act of the European Union or of the United Nations and the  
determination of the restrictive measures in financial matters which  
apply shall be made automatically by reference to that list.  
This reference also applies to States, natural and legal persons, entities  
or groups included in these lists under the European Union's police and  
judicial cooperation in criminal matters.  
Article 5  
(1) A grand-ducal regulation may impose a restrictive measure against  
States, natural and legal persons, entities and groups in order to ensure  
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the defence of the national and external security or vital interests of the  
country and pending the formal adoption of decisions within the United  
Nations Organisation or the European Union.  
(2) The restrictive measure shall be valid for a maximum period of sixty  
days, and its effects shall automatically expire at the end of such period,  
unless it is duly extended for respective periods of thirty days with  
reasons.  
(3) The States, natural and legal persons, entities or groups referred to  
in the grand-ducal regulation referred to in paragraph 1 may be  
published on the website of the Minister of Finance.  
Article 6  
(1) Natural and legal persons who are required to implement the  
restrictive measures provided for in this law shall inform the Minister  
responsible for finance of the enforcement of each restrictive measure  
taken in respect of a State, natural or legal person, entity or group  
designated in accordance with this law and the implementing  
regulations, including attempted transactions.  
For the purposes of implementing this law, the Minister responsible for  
Finance is competent to deal with matters relating to the enforcement of  
financial restrictive measures on the part of the natural and legal  
persons, entities and groups concerned, as well as on the part of the  
natural and legal persons obliged to apply them. The Minister responsible  
for Finance is also competent to exceptionally issue authorisations  
derogating from the prohibitions and restrictive measures imposed if the  
resolutions and acts referred to in Article 1 allow such derogations and  
under the conditions provided for therein.  
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3, the supervisory  
authorities and self-regulatory bodies shall be responsible for the  
supervision of the persons falling within their competence for the  
purposes of the implementation of this law. To this end, the supervisory  
authorities and self-regulatory bodies shall ensure effective monitoring  
of the implementation of financial restrictive measures and shall take the  
necessary measures to that end.  
(3) The Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA  
is responsible for the supervision of the persons falling within its  
competence exercised pursuant to point (5) of Article 1(1) of the Law of  
10 August 2018 on the organisation of the Administration de  
l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA, as amended, for the  
purposes of the implementation of this law.  
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(4) The supervisory authorities have the same powers as those conferred  
on them by Articles 8-2, 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-7 and 8-9 of the Law of 12  
November 2004 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist  
financing, as amended.  
(5) The competent bodies within the self-regulatory bodies have the  
same powers as those attributed to them by Articles 8-2a, 8-10, 8-11,  
8-12 and 8-13 of the Law of 12 November 2004 on the fight against  
money laundering and terrorist financing, as amended.  
Article 7  
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is designated as the competent authority  
to communicate to the United Nations Sanctions Committees the natural  
and legal persons, entities and groups to which the restrictive measures  
in financial matters apply, as well as all information relating thereto, for  
the purpose of their inclusion on the United Nations Consolidated List.  
Article 8  
The application of the restrictive measures provided for in this law,  
carried out in good faith on the grounds that such action is in conformity  
with the directly applicable provisions of the European Union or the  
resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations or with this law,  
shall not give rise to any liability of any kind on the part of the natural  
or legal person carrying it out, its management or its employees, unless  
it is established that it is the result of gross negligence.  
Article 9  
(1) The disclosure in good faith to the authorities referred to in Article 6  
by a person, employee or director of such a person, of information  
necessary for the execution of this law shall not constitute a breach of  
any restriction on disclosure of information imposed by contract or by  
professional secrecy and shall not involve the person, employee or  
director concerned in any liability.  
(2) Professional secrecy shall not prevent the exchange of information  
necessary for the execution of this law between the authorities referred  
to in Article 6 and the various competent national, foreign and  
international authorities.  
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Article 10  
Without prejudice to the application of the more severe penalties  
provided for, where applicable, by other legal provisions, failure to  
comply with the restrictive measures “adopted by way of a grand-ducal  
regulation pursuant to Article 4(1), or by way of an act by the European  
Union or United Nations pursuant to Article 4(2)”2 shall be punished by  
imprisonment for a term of eight days to five years and a fine of between  
EUR 12 500 and EUR 5 000 000 or by one of these penalties only. Where  
the offence has resulted in substantial financial gain, the fine may be  
increased to four times the amount of the offence.  
Article 11  
The Law of 27 October 2010 on the implementation of United Nations  
Security Council resolutions and acts adopted by the European Union  
containing prohibitions and restrictive measures in financial matters  
against certain persons, entities and groups in the context of the fight  
against the financing of terrorism is repealed.  
We instruct and order that this law be inserted in the Official Journal of  
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in order to be enforced and complied  
with by all the persons concerned.  
Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier  
283, route d’Arlon  
L-2991 Luxembourg (+352) 26 25 1-1  
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