On May 1, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued General License No. 42 (“GL 42”) under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (“VSR”), three new Venezuela-related Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), and also amended one Venezuela-related FAQ. These developments occurred in the context of efforts by creditors to enforce judgments against Venezuela and appear to have been in response to a request from the Special Master for the US District…
On February 24, 2023, the US Government alongside G7 leaders announced via a White House statement a new set of trade and economic measures targeting Russia and Belarus and support for Ukraine. These measures were announced to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and include the following: Additional information on new sanctions measures adopted in parallel by the United Kingdom and Ukraine, along with a statement from the Dutch Government on…
On January 17, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended (i) certain Russia-related General Licenses (“GLs”) and (ii) four Russia-related Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). Amended General Licenses Amended GLs include the following: GL 6C, “Transactions Related to Agricultural Commodities, Medicine, Medical Devices, Replacement Parts and Components, or Software Updates, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, or Clinical Trials,” replaces and supersedes GL 6B (see previous blog post here)…
On June 30, 2022, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced four key policy changes to strengthen the administrative enforcement program and tackle external threats. These policy changes prioritize the “most serious violations” and cases that pose the greatest danger to US security. The four policy changes made to the BIS’s Administrative Enforcement Program include: Imposition of Significantly Higher Penalties The most serious administrative violations will trigger more stringent penalties…