The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued one new and three updated general licenses related to Russia alongside an update to OFAC's Frequently Asked Questions and a Food Security Fact Sheet, according to a July 14 notice.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week released the texts of two previously issued Ukraine/Russia-related General Licenses. The licenses are GLs 2 and 10, which expired in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The licenses authorized certain wind-down transactions or divestments involving sanctioned Russian entities.
The U.K. issued a General License permitting relevant parties to perform activities to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance relating to the war in Ukraine, in Crimea and non-Ukraine controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The license indefinitely permits such activity and also says any money used to carry out such humanitarian activity can't be from funds owned, held or controlled by a sanctioned individual or entity.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed a Venezuela-related license that authorizes certain transactions related to exports or reexports of liquefied petroleum gas to Venezuela (see 2107120054). General License No. 40A, which replaces General License No 40, is valid through 12:01 a.m. EDT July 12, 2023. The license was scheduled to expire July 8.
The U.K. released three general licenses pertaining to its Russian sanctions regime. The first, "Wind Down of Positions Involving Rosbank," allows until July 30 an individual or entity to wind down any transactions to which it is a party involving Rosbank or a subsidiary. Such action includes closing out of any positions, repaying loans, withdrawing deposits and closing accounts. The next license, "Wind down positions involving National Bank of Belarus," allows an individual to give financial services for winding down any "derivatives, repurchase, and reverse purchase transactions" entered into before July 5 with the National Bank of Belarus, Ministry of Finance of Belarus and those individuals listed under the Belarus sanctions regime. The last license, "Transferable securities, money market instruments, loans and credit arrangements," permits a seven-day wind down period for category C loans and transferable securities and money market instruments under the Belarus sanctions regime.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is preparing to publish several new export control rules, including one that will request feedback on U.S. Munitions List categories and another that will consolidate exemptions under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. DDTC is also starting to review a more complex set of Ukraine-related export licenses after moving through some of the more straightforward applications earlier this year.
The U.S. this week announced a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s defense industrial base, including export restrictions against entities helping Moscow evade U.S. export controls and new financial sanctions targeting state-owned companies. The sanctions target more than 100 entities and 50 people supporting Russia’s defense industry and add 36 entities to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, including six for supporting Russia’s military.
The U.S. on June 28 announced a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s defense industrial base, including export restrictions against entities helping Moscow evade U.S. export controls and for illegally acquiring controlled U.S. items for Iran. The financial sanctions, announced by the Treasury and State Department, target more than 100 entities and 50 people, including Russia’s State Corporation Rostec, a “massive” state-owned technological, aerospace and military-industrial enterprise. Treasury also issued several new general licenses.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on June 17 sanctioned Empresa Nicaraguense de Minas (ENIMINAS), Nicaragua’s state-owned mining company, and Ruy Lopez Delgado, the president of its board of directors. OFAC said the government has used ENIMINAS to solidify its control over Nicaragua’s mining sector and enrich government officials.
The State Department officially renewed the charter for its Defense Trade Advisory Group for another two years, the agency said in a notice this week. The DTAG advises the agency on “its support for and regulation of defense trade” and helps to “reduce unnecessary impediments to legitimate exports.” During the most recent DTAG plenary meeting in April, the agency said it was "finalizing” discussions with several trading partners on its new open general license concept for certain defense exports (see 2204290032).