The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Venezuelan state-run bank and five related entities, OFAC said in a March 22 notice, increasing pressure on the Nicolas Maduro-led regime in potentially the most impactful move against the country since January, when the U.S. sanctioned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the country's state-run oil company.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a general license related to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, according to a March 14 OFAC notice. The license allows transactions with PDV Holding and CITGO Holding, two oil companies and subsidiaries of Petroleos de Venezuela, the U.S.-sanctioned and Venezuela state-owned oil company. The license also allows transactions with PDV Holding’s and CITGO Holding’s subsidiaries. The license changes the expiration date to automatically renew on the first day of each month, the notice said, and is “valid for a period of 18 months from the effective date” of the general license “or the date of any subsequent renewal of (the license), whichever is later.” The license, General License No. 7A, replaces General License No. 7, which was issued Jan. 28.
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.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control extended the expiration date of two general licenses related to GAZ Group, allowing certain transactions involving the sanctioned company until July 6, 2019, OFAC said in March 6 notice. The previous expiration date, issued in a Jan. 16 notice, was March 7. The sanctions against GAZ Group are Ukraine-related, and the company was designated as an “oligarch-owned” entity after OFAC said in a April 2018 notice that the company was owned or controlled by “Russian Machines” and oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who also is identified as having a large stake in Russian aluminum producer Rusal. The notice said GAZ Group is Russia’s “leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles.”