OFAC Issues Burundi Sanctions Regulations

Sanctions OFAC

On April 14, OFAC issued the Burundi Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 554 to implement the November 22, 2015 Executive Order 13712, “Blocking the Property of Certain persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi.” OFAC issued the regulations in abbreviated form to provide immediate guidance to the public. The regulations provide limited definitional and interpretive guidance, and contain a number of licenses permitting U.S. persons to engage in activities otherwise prohibited by Executive Order 13712, including, among others, providing legal services and emergency medical services to designated persons. Persons designated pursuant to Executive Order 13712, i.e., those whose property and interests in property are blocked, are published in the Federal Register and incorporated into OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons with the identifier ‘[BURUNDI].’” OFAC intends to issue a more comprehensive set of regulations in the future, which may include additional interpretive and definitional guidance, as well as additional general licenses and statements of licensing policy.