On November 17, OFAC issued General License 8G, Authorizing Transactions Involving Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”) Necessary for the Limited Maintenance of Essential Operations in Venezuela or the Wind Down of Operations in Venezuela for Certain Entities (“GL 8G.”). GL 8G, like its predecessor General License No. 8F (“GL 8F”), authorizes several  US energy companies … Read more

In a significant new Executive Order (“Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies”) (Order) issued on November 12, 2020, the current US Administration has prohibited “any transaction” in either the “publicly traded securities,” or “derivative[s]” of securities of companies determined to be “Communist Chinese military compan[ies]” by US authorities. Thirty-one … Read more

On October 30, OFAC published an advisory (the “Advisory”), which highlights sanctions risks arising from transactions involving high-value artwork associated with persons on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDNs”). OFAC suggests that “high-value artwork” generally includes artwork with an estimated market value of more than $100,000 USD. OFAC explains that certain … Read more

On September 30, 2020, the US Department of State published new guidance on human rights due diligence for US businesses involved in the sale of products or services with surveillance capabilities that could be used by foreign governments. The voluntary guidance identifies eight steps that businesses should take to assess and minimize the risk that … Read more

On October 9, 2020, HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published its latest Annual Review for the 2019-20 financial year. Established in 2016, OFSI is a component of Her Majesty’s Treasury, which implements and enforces financial sanctions in the UK. The publication marks the third report which OFSI have published and provides an … Read more

On October 23, OFAC designated State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics (TsNIIKhM) to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List because of TsNIIKhM’s involvement with Triton malware. TsNIIKhM is a Russian government-controlled research institution. OFAC’s press release is available here. The 2017 Triton Malware … Read more

Companies that do business with the US federal government have seen important changes to the requirements for federal contractors in the past several months as the US Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) has proceeded with rulemaking for the implementation of Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year … Read more

On October 6, OFAC issued General License 5E, Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After January 19, 2021 (“GL-5E”). GL-5E appears intended to protect bondholders of CITGO Holding, Inc. (“Citgo”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company, Petróleos … Read more