OFAC Amends Two Venezuela-Related General Licenses

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control amended two general licenses related to Venezuelan sanctions, OFAC said in a March 8 notice, extending the expiration date of provisions allowing transactions that involve the “wind down of certain financial contracts” with Venezuela. The first general license includes a provision that permits the divestment or transfer of Venezuelan-related bonds as long as the trades were placed before 4 p.m. on Feb. 1. The second general license allows “facilitating, clearing, and settling transactions” involving divestiture of holdings in Petroleos de Venezuela, the U.S.-sanctioned Venezuelan oil company, for all transactions that were placed before 4 p.m. on Jan. 28. Both authorizations are permitted only if divestments or transfers are made to a non-U.S. person, OFAC said. Transactions are authorized until May 10.

In the first license, OFAC stressed the authorization does not allow U.S. companies to trade or invest in bonds issued by Venezuela before Aug. 25, 2017, other than purchases of “GL 3D Bonds … necessary to the divestment or transfer” of those bonds. In addition to PdVSA, OFAC’s second general license also authorized certain transactions with three other companies: PDV Holdings, CITGO Holdings Inc. and Nynas AB. The two general licenses (No. 3D and No. 9C) replace the two previous licenses (No. 3C and No. 9B) issued Feb. 11.