OFAC issues new sanctions against Iran and new Venezuela-related general licenses

On 7 June 2019 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), Iran’s “largest and most profitable petrochemical holding group”. PGPIC and 39 of its subsidiaries were designated for providing financial support to Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters (Khatam al-Anbiya), the economic arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). See OFAC’s recent actions for the full list of designations and the press release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for more information.

In addition, on 6 June 2019 OFAC released three amended Venezuela-related general licenses. General License 7B, "Authorizing Certain Activities Involving PDV Holding, Inc. and CITGO Holding, Inc,” General License 8A, “Authorizing Transactions Involving Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) Prohibited by Executive Order 13850 for Certain Entities Operating in Venezuela,” and General License 13A, “Authorizing Certain Activities Involving Nynas AB” replaced General Licenses 7A, 8 and 13, respectively. OFAC issued FAQ 672 to clarify restrictions on diluents. See OFAC’s recent actions for more information.