On October 18, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) implemented limited sanctions relief under the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (the “VSR”) to the Government of Venezuela (the “GOV”) and certain sectors of the Venezuelan economy in response to the signing of an electoral roadmap agreement between GOV representatives and Venezuelan political opposition parties. OFAC and the State Department have made clear that additional sanctions relief and the continuance of…
In the past week, both the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) took steps related to Hamas, which they indicated were linked to the recent Hamas attacks on Israel. New OFAC Sanctions On October 18, 2023, OFAC added a number of parties determined to be connected to Hamas to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN”). As described in the…
On October 18, 2023, the US Departments of Commerce, State, Treasury, and Justice issued the Iran Ballistic Missile Procurement Advisory (the “Advisory”) to alert persons and businesses to Iran’s ballistic missile procurement activities. The Departments of State and Justice also issued separate statements related to the Advisory. The Advisory and related statements underscore the US Government’s concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its efforts to stymie that program. In addition, the US Government and…
On 12 October 2023, the Price Cap Coalition (Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) renewed efforts to ensure effective enforcement of the price cap on Russian-origin oil and petroleum products. Below we summarize the Price Cap Coalition’s joint advisory for the maritime oil industry and other actions taken by the United States. Maritime Oil Industry Advisory The Price Cap Coalition issued an advisory providing seven…