On July 27, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a statement (here) of enforcement policy committing not to take supervisory or enforcement action against US financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) in connection with the provision of authorized financial services provided in Venezuela. The statement was issued in consultation with the Internal Revenue Service and the staffs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the “Federal Banking Agencies”) and follows a series of OFAC authorizations easing the Venezuela sanctions program in support of economic recovery and earthquake relief in Venezuela.
Specifically, FinCEN commits to not take any supervisory action, including citing a violation of law, or pursue any enforcement action against any US financial institution related to requirements under the BSA, the USA PATRIOT Act, other statutes administered by FinCEN, and related implementing regulations (collectively, “BSA Requirements”) as a result of providing authorized financial services in Venezuela. The commitment applies to financial services provided by a US financial institution to persons or entities in Venezuela from July 27, 2026 through January 29, 2027. FinCEN states that the commitment does not apply to statutes or regulations except as specifically addressed in the statement.
Conditions on Reliance
All financial institutions subject to BSA Requirements may rely on the commitment reflected in FinCEN’s statement provided that the institution:
- is currently in compliance with an applicable BSA compliance program requirement and continues to engage in reasonable efforts to comply with applicable BSA Requirements, taking into account the government’s interests in rapidly providing humanitarian relief and rapidly promoting financial stability and economic recovery in the region;
- has not been the subject of a final enforcement action with FinCEN or its primary federal regulator within the prior 24 months that involves violations of BSA Requirements or similar regulatory requirements administered by one of the Agencies; and
- remains compliant with any applicable OFAC-administered sanctions regulations and authorizations.
FinCEN describes the commitment as intended to recognize that financial institutions exercising reasonable care to avoid violations of applicable BSA Requirements in support of Venezuela’s economic recovery and earthquake relief efforts “are not penalized for actions other than for knowing, willful, or intentional violations of any BSA Requirements.”
Financial institutions should note the limits of what FinCEN has offered. The statement is a policy of forbearance, not a regulatory amendment, and no obligation in FinCEN’s implementing regulations has been modified, waived, or suspended (e.g. reporting, diligence, and recordkeeping duties continue to run on their existing terms throughout the commitment period). The third condition makes continued OFAC compliance a prerequisite to the relief, with the consequence that a screening failure may both forfeit the BSA forbearance and create independent sanctions exposure.
Parallel Statement by the Federal Banking Agencies
On July 31, 2026, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, NCUA, and OCC issued a substantively similar joint statement of enforcement policy, which they describe as intended to reinforce the FinCEN statement (here). The joint statement records that Venezuela experienced a pair of strong earthquakes off the northern coast, west of Caracas, on June 24, 2026, causing significant damage in several cities and triggering a humanitarian aid crisis, and that the Federal Banking Agencies recognize that timely provision of humanitarian aid can be impaired where institutions otherwise able to facilitate financial services are unwilling to do so because of regulatory uncertainty. The Agencies’ commitment applies to authorized financial services provided by an Agency-supervised financial institution to persons or entities located in Venezuela from July 31, 2026 through January 29, 2027 a start date four days later than FinCEN’s — and is subject to the same three conditions, with the “clean record” test measured against FinCEN or the applicable Agency. The OCC separately notified supervised institutions of the joint statement in Bulletin 2026-36.
The Underlying OFAC Authorizations
FinCEN’s commitment extends only to authorized financial services, so the scope of the relief is set by the operative OFAC authorizations rather than by the FinCEN statement itself. FinCEN identifies two in particular. General License 60 (“GL 60”), issued June 25, 2026, authorizes transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited by the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (“VSR”), through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, October 23, 2026 (see our previous blog post here). General License 57 (“GL 57”), issued April 14, 2026, authorizes transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision of financial services to, from, or for the benefit of Banco Central de Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, S.A. Banco Universal, Banco Digital de los Trabajadores Banco Universal C.A., and Banco del Tesoro, C.A. Banco Universal, any entity owned 50 percent or more by one or more of them, and any individual blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13884 because that individual meets the definition of “Government of Venezuela,” excluding any individual on the SDN List. Neither GL authorizes the unblocking of blocked property. Two timing points are worth tracking. GL 60’s authorization expires on October 23, 2026, roughly three months before the FinCEN and Federal Banking Agency commitments expire on January 29, 2027, so institutions relying on the earthquake-relief authorization should monitor whether OFAC renews or replaces GL 60; the FinCEN commitment does not itself authorize any transaction that is otherwise prohibited. GL 57, by contrast, carries no stated expiration, and Note 3 to GL 57 expressly preserves compliance obligations under the BSA, the USA PATRIOT Act, and FinCEN’s regulations, which are the obligations against which FinCEN has now offered time-limited forbearance.
