On August 2, 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two revised general licenses regarding conducting financial transactions involving: (i) the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), Russia’s largest public trading markets for equity, fixed income, derivative, foreign exchange, and money market products, as well as Russia’s central securities depository and the country’s largest clearing service provider; (ii) the National Clearing Center (NCC), the central counterparty and clearing agent for, and a subsidiary of MOEX, and supervised by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR); and, (iii) the Non-Bank Credit Institution Joint Stock Company National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, and a subsidiary of MOEX, that provides bank account services, registration of over-the-counter trades, and liquidity management services.
These Russian financial infrastructure entities were sanctioned and placed on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List on June 12, 2024 (see Thompson Hine Update of June 12, 2024). At that time, OFAC issued the original General Licenses 99 and 100 authorizing the wind down of certain transactions with these entities. These license were set to expire on August 13, 2024. The newly revised General Licenses extend authorizations for such transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to wind down transactions and/or divest from these SDN entities:
Russia-related General License 99A continues to authorize until October 12, 2024, the wind down of certain transactions related to debt or equity of, or derivative contracts involving, MOEX, NCC, or NSD, or the facilitation or transfer of such divestment of such covered debt or equity.
Russia-related General License 100A continues to authorize until October 12, 2024, certain transactions related to the divestment of debt or equity to a non-U.S. person, or the conversion of currencies involving MOEX, NCC, or NSD, when acting solely as a securities, trade, or settlement depository, central counterparty or clearing house, or public trading market.
Certain transactions with these entities remain unauthorized under these general licenses and therefore require close analysis.