Morgan Lewis US and Russia Sanctions Update
US Direct Sanctions - SDNS (cont'd)
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Specific licenses - needed (especially by a US person) for any activity
vis-à-vis an SDN that is otherwise prohibited by law, absent coverage by
any general license ("GL" – see slides 43-44 re two important Russia GLs)
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These licenses are issued on a private basis to the specific applicant (i.e., are
not published or usable by others)
These may be / are granted by OFAC to allow certain transactions such as
purchases / sales or money transfers to or from an SDN for a longer period than
an applicable general license allows (or if no general license applies)
For example, see the report of Swiss pump-maker Sulzer obtaining two such
licenses in April 2018, allowing (i) its buyback of shares from new SDN Mr.
Vekselberg to reduce his holding to below 50%, and (ii) the related unblocking
of Sulzer's US bank accounts
Also the Oct. 2019 private license(s) reportedly granted for an SDN'd Chinese-
owned ship to onload cargo (and various other examples reported from time to
time)
And such licenses may be granted to allow US lawyers to advise / collect fees
from SDNS on sanctions compliance (incl. help in SDN delisting application)
Morgan Lewis
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