On May 20, 2024, President Putin signed Decree No. 430 (the “Decree”), effective the same day. The Decree establishes restrictions on the acquisition of IP rights by Russian persons from so-called “unfriendly” jurisdictions. The term “unfriendly” jurisdiction has been used in other countersanctions regulations and includes all foreign states that commit unfriendly acts towards the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities and natural persons (i.e., countries that have introduced sanctions against Russia, including the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States).Continue Reading New Russian Decree Imposes Restrictions on Transfer of IP Rights
Potential Seizure of U.S. Assets in Russia
On May 23, 2024, Russian Presidential Decree No. 442 (the “Decree”), which establishes the framework that will allow the Russian government to seize any U.S. assets in Russia, was signed. This comes just weeks after the U.S. Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act, which authorizes the President of the United States to confiscate any sovereign assets of the Russian Federation that are in the U.S. territory, entered into force on April 24, 2024.[1]Continue Reading Potential Seizure of U.S. Assets in Russia
President Biden Issues Order Requiring Chinese Owner to Divest Cryptocurrency Mining Facility Near U.S. Military Base
On May 13, 2024, President Biden issued an order (the “Order”) requiring MineOne Partners Limited, a company majority owned by Chinese nationals, and certain affiliates (together, “MineOne”) to divest previously acquired real estate (the “Real Estate”) in Wyoming located near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base (“Warren AFB”). The Order gives MineOne 120 days to divest the Real Estate and includes strict monitoring measures to allow the U.S. government to supervise the sale of the Real Estate to an approved buyer.Continue Reading President Biden Issues Order Requiring Chinese Owner to Divest Cryptocurrency Mining Facility Near U.S. Military Base
OFAC Allows Venezuelan Oil and Gas Authorization to Expire and Extends Prohibitions to Execution on PdVSA 2020 Bond Collateral
On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced that it would not renew an existing authorization for transactions related to oil and gas sector operations in Venezuela, and replaced the existing authorization with a 45-day wind-down period for previously authorized transactions, expiring May 31, 2024. On April 15, 2024, OFAC separately reissued a separate general license, continuing to extend prohibitions to execution on the PdVSA 2020 bond collateral.Continue Reading OFAC Allows Venezuelan Oil and Gas Authorization to Expire and Extends Prohibitions to Execution on PdVSA 2020 Bond Collateral
Statute of Limitations for U.S. Sanctions Violations Extended from Five to Ten years
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law H.R. 815, a foreign aid bill containing a provision that doubles the statute of limitations (SoL) for civil and criminal violations of U.S. sanctions and other national security programs from five years to ten years.Continue Reading Statute of Limitations for U.S. Sanctions Violations Extended from Five to Ten years
US And UK Tighten Restrictions on Trade and Use of Russian Metals
On April 12, 2024 the United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, issued new prohibitions with respect to Russian aluminium, copper and nickel.Continue Reading US And UK Tighten Restrictions on Trade and Use of Russian Metals
Treasury Issues Proposed Rule to Enhance CFIUS Mitigation and Enforcement
On April 11, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the “Proposed Rule”) that would modify and expand CFIUS’s mitigation and enforcement authority. Continue Reading Treasury Issues Proposed Rule to Enhance CFIUS Mitigation and Enforcement
Lexology Panoramic Foreign Investment Review 2024 – United States (CFIUS)
Cleary Gottlieb partner Chase Kaniecki and associates Samuel Chang, William Dawley, and B.J. Altvater co-authored the United States chapter in Lexology Panoramic: Foreign Investment Review 2024.Continue Reading Lexology Panoramic Foreign Investment Review 2024 – United States (CFIUS)
Updates to the Critical and Emerging Technologies List Signal Refinement of Focus
The U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)[1] recently published an updated list of critical and emerging technologies (CETs) as part of an ongoing effort to identify advanced technologies that are potentially significant to U.S. national security. We previously summarized the February 2022 list of CETs from the NSTC here.Continue Reading Updates to the Critical and Emerging Technologies List Signal Refinement of Focus
Impact of Recent U.S. Secondary Sanctions Authority Targeting Foreign Financial Institutions Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base
As the second anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine approaches, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom continue to focus on and tighten sanctions against Russia, with a particular emphasis on preventing circumvention and evasion of sanctions. For example, 2023 ended with several significant regulatory developments, including the EU 12th package of sanctions against Russia, discussed in our earlier alert, and new U.S. sanctions-related authority targeting foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) supporting Russia’s military-industrial base. This update focuses on the latter development, which is a significant development for FFIs that remain engaged in business involving Russia, even if such business is undertaken outside of U.S. jurisdiction.Continue Reading Impact of Recent U.S. Secondary Sanctions Authority Targeting Foreign Financial Institutions Supporting Russia’s Military-Industrial Base