Jersey adopts law to prevent and combat people smuggling and trafficking in persons

On 23 July 2025, the UK Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025 (the 'UK Regulations') will come into force, establishing a new sanctions regime for the purpose of:

• Preventing and combatting people smuggling, trafficking in persons; and
• The instrumentalisation of migration for the purpose of destabilising a country.
• https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/902/contents/made

The UK Regulations provide that a person involved in these activities can be designated for any or all of the following purposes:

• A travel ban;
• Director disqualification; and
• Asset freezes and restrictions on making funds, financial services, and economic resources available to designated persons.

To give effect to the UK Regulations in Jersey, the Minister for External Relations (the 'Minister') made the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2025 (the 'Amendment Order'), under Article 3 of the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019 ('SAFL').

• The Amendment Order will come into force on 23 July 2025. https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/enacted/Pages/RO-043-2025.aspx

Any designations, or changes to designations, made under the UK Regulations are effective immediately and automatically in Jersey under the provisions of SAFL and the Sanctions and Asset-Freezing (Implementation of External Sanctions) (Jersey) Order 2021 (the 'Sanctions Order').

• https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/current/ro_11_2021

If you know or have reasonable cause to suspect that you are in possession or control of, or are otherwise dealing with, the funds or economic resources of a person designated for the purposes of an asset-freeze under the UK Regulations you must:

• Freeze such accounts, and other funds or economic resources without prior notice and without delay;
• Refrain from dealing with the funds or economic resources or making them available (directly or indirectly) to such persons unless licensed by the Minister;
• Report any findings to the Minister, together with any additional information that would facilitate compliance with SAFL; and
• Provide any information concerning the frozen assets of designated persons that the Minister may request. Information reported to the Minister may be passed on to other regulatory authorities or law enforcement agencies.

The UK will be publishing specific guidance on these Regulations which may be considered by Jersey persons alongside the provisions and modifications of Schedule 2 of the Sanctions Order. For example:

• When UK guidance refers to 'The Secretary of State' this should read as the 'Minister for External Relations'; and
• Any reference to the UK or a part of the UK should be read as a reference to Jersey.

All reporting under the UK Regulations, as implemented in Jersey, should be made to the Minister at sanctions@gov.je.

Further information

• The UK press release. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-brings-forward-worlds-first-sanctions-regime-to-smash-the-gangs-responsible-for-irregular-migration
•  https://www.gov.je/gazette/Pages/SanctionsLegislationUpdateIntroductionofNewGlobalIrregularMigrationandTraffickinginPersonsRegime.aspx
• https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/enacted/Pages/RO-043-2025.aspx