OFAC Issues Venezuela-Related Sanctions, General License, FAQ
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned three people, eight entities and two ships for evading U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, according to a June 18 press release. OFAC also issued a general license authorizing certain wind-down activities with two of the sanctioned entities and the two sanctioned ships.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The sanctions mainly target Mexico-based people and entities who continue to do business with sanctioned Petroleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-owned energy company. Among those designated are Joaquin Leal Jimenez, Olga Maria Zepeda Esparza, Veronica Esparza Garcia, Libre Abordo, S.A. de C.V. and Schlager Business Group S. de R.L. de C.V. Additional sanctions target Singapore-based Cosmo Resources Pte. Ltd., Delaware-based Alel Technologies LLC and Luzy Technologies LLC and United Kingdom-based Washington Trading Ltd.
OFAC also designated Delos Voyager Shipping Ltd. and Romina Maritime Co. Inc., the registered owners of the ships Delos Voyager and Euroforce, respectively. OFAC said both ships transported at least 500,000 barrels each of Venezuelan crude oil this year, with Delos Voyager transporting oil to China and near Malaysia and Euroforce transporting oil to another vessel in the South China Sea.
The agency also issued General License No. 37, which authorizes the wind-down of transactions with Delos Voyager, Romina Maritime and their two vessels through midnight on July 21.The license authorizes the completion of “ongoing voyages,” including the “discharge of cargo aboard such vessels as of June 18, 2020,” OFAC said in a frequently asked question. The license also authorizes a range of other activities, including docking of the vessels at “third country, non-sanctioned ports,” certain transactions, contracts, compliance inspections and crew services.
OFAC also delisted two companies and two vessels from its Specially Designated Nationals List after they committed to “enhanced risk-based sanctions compliance programs” and stopped their activities in Venezuela's oil sector. The sanctions were removed from Afranav Maritime Ltd., Seacomber Ltd., the Athens Voyager and the Chios I.