OFAC issues new FAQ after CAATSA reports

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) has published a new FAQ, following the Treasury Department’s submission of reports to Congress on 29 January required by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (‘CAATSA’).

The s241 report on Russian oligarchs, senior government officials and parastatal entities listed senior members of the political administration and Russian oligarchs with a net worth of at least $1bn, but did not impose sanctions. The contents of the s231 report on the effects of expanding sanctions to include sovereign debt and derivative products is currently classified.

The Department of State has not yet imposed any sanctions under s231 of CAATSA, which allows sanctions on persons that engage in significant transactions with designated parties connected with Russia defence or intelligence sectors.

‘Sanctions on specific entities or individuals will not need to be imposed because the legislation is, in fact, serving as a deterrent,’ said Heather Nauert, a State Department spokesperson. ‘Since the enactment of the CAATSA legislation, we estimate that foreign governments have abandoned planned or announced purchases of several billion dollars in Russian defense acquisitions.’

For OFAC’s FAQ see:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Sanctions/Pages/faq_other.aspx#552