On April 16, 2025, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) re-issued and updated its Advisory for Shipping and Maritime Stakeholders on Detecting and Mitigating Iranian Oil Sanctions Evasion (“the Advisory”), originally issued in September 2019. The updated Advisory is part of OFAC’s implementation of the February 4, 2025 National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-2), which directs the Treasury Department to enact “maximum pressure” on Iran. The Advisory expands on the red flags…
On March 24, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14245 (“EO 14245”) to implement potential tariffs for countries importing Venezuelan oil as well as a Fact Sheet that summarizes EO 14245 at a high level. On the same date, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License (“GL”) No. 41B extending the wind down period of certain transactions related to Chevron Corporation joint ventures (“JVs”) in Venezuela. EO 14245 This…
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended Venezuela General License (“GL”) 41 to wind-down, rather than authorize, certain transactions related to the operation and management of Chevron Corporation’s joint venture with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (“PdVSA”) and any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest (“PdVSA Related Entities”). OFAC issued the original GL 41 on November 26, 2022, which authorized certain transactions…
On March 4, 2025, the US Department of State announced the redesignation of Ansarallah (a political movement and militia group in Yemen also known as the Houthis) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”). The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) separately designated seven high-ranking members of Ansarallah as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”) for smuggling weapons into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and negotiating weapons procurement from Russia. In addition, OFAC designated…