Blocking definition

Blocking is the operative effect of most designations. The property is not confiscated; title does not change. It is immobilised, and the institution holding it must report it and place it in a blocked account. Dealing in blocked property without a licence is itself a violation.

Blocking travels. If a designated person’s funds pass through a correspondent account in a blocking jurisdiction, the intermediary bank is required to block them mid-payment, which is why so much evasion activity is directed at keeping payments out of the correspondent chains where that would happen.

Where this term is used

How is correspondent banking used to evade sanctions? — Using a chain of banks that each know only their own customer, so that a payment for a restricted party reaches a currency it could not access directly, without any bank in the chain seeing the whole transaction.
How is cryptocurrency used to evade sanctions? — Settling obligations in virtual assets so that value moves without a correspondent bank, a payment message or a screening system in the path, and without any institution able to block it in transit.
What are third-country bank accounts and how are they used? — Holding accounts in a jurisdiction unconnected to the restricted party, the goods or the contract, so that payments reach and leave the restricted economy without ever appearing to touch it.

Related terms

Asset freeze — The prohibition on dealing with funds or economic resources owned, held or controlled by a designated person, and on making funds available to them.
Blocked property — Property in which a designated person has an interest, which has come within the jurisdiction and must be frozen, reported and held in a blocked account.
Correspondent banking — An arrangement in which one bank holds an account for another and provides payment and other services on its behalf, usually to give it access to a foreign currency.
General licence — A published authorisation permitting a defined category of otherwise prohibited transactions, available to anyone who meets its terms without applying.

Where this term is used

Related terms

Sources