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Round 5 for Russian export license extensions

The Office of Foreign Assets Control continues to extend the expiration dates of certain general licenses between U.S. firms and three Russian oil and gas companies.

   The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended for a fifth time the expiration date of certain general licenses related to EN+ Group, United Company RUSAL and GAZ Group to give U.S. businesses more time to wind down their existing contracts with those Russian entities.
   OFAC General Licenses 13G, 14C, 15B and 16C, which cover these Russian entities, amend their previous versions by extending the expiration date from Dec. 12 to Jan. 7. 
   On April 6, OFAC added EN+ Group to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List for being owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, along with other entities he either owns or controls. In that same action, the agency designated United Company RUSAL for being owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by EN+. 
   “As the review of these complex proposals is ongoing, OFAC is extending the expiration date of related licenses until Jan. 7,” said a Treasury spokesperson in a statement.
   OFAC said it will continue to closely monitor existing activity related to these general licenses. The general licenses require U.S. persons who continue to participate in these transactions since April 6 to file within 10 business days after the general licenses’ expiration date “a comprehensive, detailed report of each transaction, including the names and addresses of parties involved, the type and scope of activities conducted and the dates on which the activities occurred” with OFAC’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Washington, D.C.

Chris Gillis

Located in the Washington, D.C. area, Chris Gillis primarily reports on regulatory and legislative topics that impact cross-border trade. He joined American Shipper in 1994, shortly after graduating from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., with a degree in international business and economics.