UK extends brokerage general licence for frozen Russia, Belarus-linked assets

LONDON, July 13, 2026 — Britain on Monday amended a general licence that permits the movement of certain frozen brokerage assets held at designated brokerage firms under the UK’s Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes, extending the licence’s expiry to 11:59 p.m. on July 16, 2027. The licence was originally issued on July 18, 2025 and was amended on July 13, 2026, according to the document signed by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation at HM Treasury.

The licence, numbered INT/2025/6641960, applies to “non-designated third-party brokerage accounts” held at designated brokerage firms. It allows an asset holding institution to transfer central securities depository funds or client money where it reasonably considers those assets belong to a non-designated account holder and relate to investments made before the brokerage firm became designated.

The permissions also allow non-designated account holders, asset holding institutions, relevant institutions, nominee entities, designated brokers and non-designated brokers to take steps reasonably necessary to carry out those transfers. The scope includes all investment assets held for the non-designated client at the date of transfer, including interest, dividends and other income, whether accrued before or after designation.

The licence sets conditions aimed at preventing any benefit flowing back to a designated person. Transfers must have the consent of the non-designated account holder, the designated broker, the non-designated broker, the account bank and each relevant asset holding institution. Funds must be moved to a non-designated broker, and no funds may be made available directly or indirectly to a designated person except for permitted fee deductions. Any fees payable to a designated broker must be credited to a frozen account. After the transfer, the designated broker must have no interest in the funds.

The amendment preserves reporting and record-keeping duties. A designated broker or non-designated account holder giving transfer instructions must send a copy to HM Treasury within 14 days. Asset holding institutions must reflect any changes in their next annual frozen assets report, and parties relying on the licence must keep accurate records for at least six years.

The change appears designed to give firms and clients more time to unwind frozen positions involving sanctioned brokers without requiring a case-by-case licence, while keeping the broader Russia and Belarus asset freeze restrictions in place. That is an inference based on the extension and the operational terms set out in the licence.