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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

OFAC updates Venezuela-related FAQs, addresses new debt prohibitions

Financial Crimes OFAC International

Financial Crimes

On February 12, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the release of updated FAQs to provide additional guidance on debt-related prohibitions outlined in Executive Order 13808 (E.O. 13808). Specifically, under E.O. 13808, U.S. persons (along with persons within the U.S.) are prohibited from “engaging in transactions related to, providing financing for, or otherwise dealing in new debt” with maturities longer than 90 days for Venezuela’s state-owned oil company or 30 days for other segments of the Government of Venezuela. “New debt” is defined as debt created on or after August 25, 2017, which includes the extension of credit for the sale of goods or services. OFAC cautioned that receiving payments outside of the stipulated maturity payments is generally prohibited. The FAQs also address the handling of certain late payments related to new debt incurred by the state-owned oil company or the Government of Venezuela.

See here for previous InfoBytes coverage of Venezuelan sanctions.