The New Cold War: Risk, Sanctions, Compliance Episode 22: "Focus on Iran: Protests, Sanctions and Oil"
Our International Trade team comments on additional restrictions on trade with Cuba
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 23, 2025, announced a significant relaxation of the comprehensive economic sanctions imposed on Syria through the issuance of General...more
The dynamic pace of early policymaking by the new U.S. administration has continued into the spring of 2025, including in the context of sanctions on Venezuela. While Venezuela is not, and has not been, subject to...more
On March 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) allowed General License (GL) 8L under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations to expire. As a result, broad OFAC...more
The Trump administration continues to ramp up sanctions on Venezuela and Yemen's Houthis, while sending mixed signals about its intentions with respect to Russia. We provide brief updates on these three areas, following up...more
President Donald Trump announced on Feb. 26, 2025, that he was reversing the authorization granted to Chevron Corp. and its subsidiaries (Chevron) by the Biden Administration as a concession aimed at promoting free elections...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Oct. 21, 2019, renewed for three months a license granted to several U.S. oil companies so that they may continue operating in the country until Jan. 22, 2020. Chevron is the only...more
The Situation: In response to events in Syria and in the face of strong Congressional pressure to act, President Trump introduced sanctions targeting Turkey. The Result: Although the President indicated that a ceasefire...more
In a show of support for Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó last week, and in opposition to the Maduro regime, President Trump issued Executive Order 13884, which imposes blocking sanctions on the Government of...more
In this episode, Akin Gump public law and policy senior advisor and former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and international trade partner Nnedi Ifudu discuss U.S. sanctions on Venezuela. Among the topics covered: • the...more
• OFAC recently added a Moscow-based Russian-Venezuelan joint venture bank, Evrofinance Mosnarbank (“Evrofinance”), to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN List”) for engaging in sanctions...more
On January 28, 2019, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). PdVSA...more
Venezuela is undergoing a political upheaval. Since his rise to power in 2013, the embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has precipitated a humanitarian crisis that has driven some 3 million Venezuelans to flee...more
• On January 28, 2019, OFAC added the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company PdVSA to its SDN List. • As a result, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with PdVSA and entities that...more
• Pursuant to Executive Order 13850 (E.O. 13850), the U.S. Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), effectively blocking PdVSA's property...more
On 28 January 2019, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) as a Specially Designated National (SDN) for operating in the oil sector of the...more
• As of November 5, 2018, the United States concluded the second of two wind-down periods for re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran following the May 8, 2018, announcement that the United States would cease participation in...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS - Petrobras Settles with U.S. Authorities Over Alleged FCPA Violations - On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS – New Unaoil Charges by U.K. Serious Fraud Office – On May 22, 2018, the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged two additional individuals in the ongoing probe related to...more
On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement the P5+1 (the United States, China, France,...more