On April 17, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released General License (GL) 44A, requiring the wind down of business transactions with Venezuela’s state-owned energy company Petróleos...more
The sanctions world experienced another action-packed year in 2023. Sanctions against Russia dominated the year in terms of the number of designations and new restrictions, and the attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel on 7...more
On October 18, 2023, the United States announced the suspension of certain sanctions related to Venezuela through the issuance of new and revised general licenses. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S....more
On January 9, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Venezuela-related General License (GL) 31B, “Certain Transactions Involving the IV Venezuelan National Assembly and Certain Other Persons.”...more
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments from the past month, with links to primary...more
This is the second in our First 100 Days series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the early days of the Biden administration. Our previous entry discussed SEC enforcement. Up next,...more
This quarter, the U.S. announced new sanctions and trade restrictions on China in response to its perceived intrusions on Hong Kong’s autonomy and reported human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The Trump Administration acted...more
Hong Kong Updates and Alerts - New Restrictions on Exports to Hong Kong – License Exceptions for Hong Kong Suspended - On June 29, 2020, the State Department announced that the U.S. will end the export of U.S.-origin...more
U.S. sanctions authorities remained active in the first quarter of 2020, even as international focus turned toward combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. OFAC and the U.S. State Department imposed secondary sanctions on firms in...more
Elliott Abrams, the U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela, announced a plan to lift sanctions on Venezuela should the Maduro regime step aside to permit a transitional government to be elected until full elections can...more
Here is our biweekly summary of recent economic developments in Venezuela: • The Venezuelan local press reported that two Chilean companies, Alimentos y Frutos S.A., and Empresas Carozzi S.A., requested before Venezuelan...more
On Friday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued FAQ 551 stating that U.S. persons who deal in the prospective Venezuelan digital currency (the “Petro”) may be exposed to U.S. sanctions risk under Executive Order...more
One day after the Venezuelan government held elections for a Constituent Assembly that the United States has asserted is aimed at rewriting the national constitution, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets...more
Overview of US and EU Trade Sanctions - Following is a summary of the current US and EU sanctions that restrict trade with and/or investment in certain countries, “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDNs) and “Blocked...more
On July 10, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published, in abbreviated form, Venezuela Sanctions Regulations (VSR) in 31 C.F.R. Part 591. The VSR implement the Venezuela...more
In This Issue: - Made in America: U.S. Manufacturing and the President's 2015 Trade Policy Agenda - Congressional Action Allowing Commerce to Retroactively Apply the Subsidy Law to Exports From China Survives a...more
United States Imposes New Sanctions Against Certain Venezuelan Officials - On March, 8 President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order blocking, or "freezing," the property and interests in property of "certain...more
Welcome to the March 2015 edition of Red Notice, a publication of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. This month on the anticorruption front, two individuals receive multi-year sentences for Venezuelan bribery,...more
On March 9, 2015, pursuant to authority contained in the recently enacted Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act (Act), President Obama issued an executive order (EO) declaring a national emergency with...more
On March 9, 2015, following failed diplomatic efforts to bring Venezuela in line with its human rights commitments under international law, President Obama issued an Executive Order (E.O.) declaring Venezuela a national...more
Recent actions by the U.S. Congress and several executive branch agencies have resulted in changes to sanctions related to various countries and regions, including Cuba, North Korea, Crimea, and Venezuela....more
During the same week that President Barack Obama announced sweeping changes in the diplomatic and trade relationships between the United States and Cuba, the president signed congressional legislation authorizing additional...more
Last week, the U.S. Congress passed S. 2142 (the “Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014”) and presented the legislation to President Obama for signature. White House officials have indicated that...more