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On October 15, 2023, OFAC issued General License 44, which temporarily authorized transactions related to oil and gas sector operations, including transactions involving PdVSA. …
Continue Reading OFAC issues wind-down license for Venezuelan oil

After many rumors of potential changes to the U.S. policy on Venezuela, on October 18, 2023 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued four general licenses, representing a significant shift in its Venezuela sanctions program.  Most pertinent for the shipping industry, certain sanctions that were in place against Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) and the Venezuela oil, gas and mining sectors have now largely been relaxed.Continue Reading Shipping briefing: Drill, baby, drill? A new Venezuelan wave for the shipping industry

After Venezuela’s government and its political opposition agreed on electoral guarantees for 2024 presidential elections, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued four general licenses suspending select sanctions:

  • General License 44 temporarily authorizes all transactions related to Venezuelan oil and gas sector operations, including producing, lifting, selling, and exporting oil or gas from Venezuela and new investment in oil or gas sector operations. The authorization includes transactions involving Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) or any entity in which PdVSA directly or indirectly owns a 50% or greater interest.

    The license expires on April 18, 2024. OFAC will only renew the license if Maduro’s government follows through with its commitments and continues taking measurable steps toward democratic elections in 2024.

  • General License 43 authorizes transactions involving CVG Compania General de Mineria de Venezuela CA (known as Minerven), the state-owned gold mining company.
  • General License 3I and General License 9H remove the secondary market trading bans on buying certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds, as well as pre-2017 PdVSA bonds or equity.

Continue Reading Overview: U.S. eases Venezuela-related sanctions after election deal

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) recently reached a settlement with a multi-asset trading platform where, to settle its potential civil liability for violations of sanctions against Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, the crypto platform agreed to pay $72,230.

In a recent post, our team outlines the alleged sanctions violations and…