The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has issued General License (GL) 5F (Authorizing Certain Transactions Related to the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. 2020 8.5 Percent Bond on or After July 21, 2021), which continues to delay U.S. persons’ ability to enforce bondholder rights to the CITGO shares serving as collateral for the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) 2020 8.5% bond until on or after July 21, 2021 – the previous deadline had been January 19, 2021. Effective December 23, 2020, this GL 5F replaces GL 5E.  Additionally, OFAC modified frequently asked question #595 to address the scope of GL 5F.

With this new General License, U.S. persons remain prohibited until July 21, 2021 from engaging in any transactions related to the sale or transfer of CITGO shares in connection with the PdVSA 2020 8.5% Bond, unless specifically authorized by OFAC. In the modified FAQ 595, OFAC notes a favorable licensing policy toward those seeking to apply for a specific license in an effort to reach an agreement on proposals to “restructure or refinance payments due to the holders of the PdVSA 2020 8.5 percent bond.”  See  Update of October 6, 2020 for additional background on this issue.