Report on sanctions against Venezuela by the EU

ANNEX II REPORT ON SANCTIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA

 

Following on from the report issued on 12 November 2019, the following new developments have taken place in this matter:

 

1. Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”)
2. OFAC has issued General Licence 34ª, dated November 5 2019, which authorises operations in which certain persons of the Government of Venezuela participate:
   • Except as provided in section d. of the General Licence, any transaction prohibited by Executive Order (E.0.) 13884 of August 5, 2018, involving one or more individuals who are part of the “Government of Venezuela,” as defined in E.O. 13884 above, relating to transactions affecting property in which such individuals have an interest and meet one or more of the following requirements, is authorized:

• Be a citizen of the United States;
• Be a permanent resident alien in the United States;
• Individuals with immigrant or non-immigrant visas in the United States other than those individuals who are in the United States as part of Venezuela’s mission to the United Nations;
• Former employees and contractors of the Government of Venezuela;
• Current employees and contractors of the Government of Venezuela who perform health or educational services in Venezuela, including in hospitals, colleges and universities.
  • Except as provided in section d. of this General License, all transactions and activities prohibited by E.O. 13884, relating to the collection by any individual described in section a. of this General License of salary, pensions, annual income or other payments relating to labor activities of persons who are part of the “Government of Venezuela”, as configured in E.O. 13884 above, and blocked only in accordance with the aforementioned E.O., are authorized.

 

• Except as provided in section d. of this General Licence, transactions necessary to unlock properties or interests in properties that were blocked solely by E.O. 13884 are authorised for individuals described in sections a. and b. of this General Licence, including the return and management of funds.
• This General Licence does not authorise:

1. The unblocking of properties blocked by O.E. 13884 or by the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) 31, chapter V (relating to sanctions to various countries and certain matters such as terrorism, weapons, etc.) except as authorized by paragraphs a. b. and c. of said Code.

 

2019. The transaction or businesses prohibited by E.O. 13884, E.O. 13850 of 1 November 2018, E.O. 13835 of 21 May 2018, E.O. 13827 of 19 March 2018, E.O. 13808 of 24 August 2017, or E.O. 13692 of 8 March 2015, as amended by E.O. 13857 of 25 January 2019. Neither is authorized what is prohibited by the cited C.F.R 31, Chapter V nor transactions or business with blocked persons, including persons included within the definition of the “Government of Venezuela” above. prohibited by the aforementioned E.O. 13884, except for the individuals described in section a. of this General License and the transactions described in section b. or c. of this General License.

 

• Transactions, business or the unblocking of any property or interest in property of persons included in the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).
  • “US Persons” who unlock property pursuant to paragraphs a. b. and c. of this General License, within 10 business days of the date on which the property in question is unlocked, shall submit the information required by 31 C.F.R. § 501.603(b)(3)(i), to OFAC, the Office of Compliance and Administration, as well as to the Department of the Treasury of Washington D.C., United States.

 

2. OFAC has issued General License 35, dated November 5, 2019, which authorises the following administrative operations with the Government of Venezuela:

 

2. • Except as provided in paragraph b. of this General License, the “S Persons” are authorized to make the payment of taxes, duties and import duties and to purchase or receive permission for licenses, registrations, certifications and public utility services of the Government of Venezuela, provided that such transactions and business were prohibited by E.O. 13884 of August 5, 2018, and when the transactions or business are related to the “necessary and ordinarily” daily operations of such persons.
   • This General License does not authorise transactions or businesses prohibited by O.E. 13884, O.E. 13850 of November 1, 2018, O.E. 13835 of May 21, 2018, O.E. 13827 of March 19, 2018, O.E. 13808 of August 24, 2017, or O.E. 13692 of March 8, 2015, as modified by O.E. 13857 of January 25, 2019. Neither is authorised what is prohibited by 31 C.F.R, Chapter V nor transactions or business with blocked persons other than those described in section a. of this General Licence.
   • Except as provided in section d. of this General License, the “U.S. Persons” who make one or more payments authorised by this General License in USD to the Government of Venezuela are required to submit the reports established in section e. of this General License to OFAC and the Office of Policy and Implementation of Sanctions of the Department of State.

The reports must include: names and addresses of the entity or entities that remit the payment and of the entity or entities of the Government of Venezuela that receive the payment, amount of funds paid, type and scope of the activity to be performed, as well as payment dates.

• S. financial institutions are not required to report any payments they process on behalf of customers or third parties authorised under this General License.
• ¨U.S. Persons¨ who are required to file reports with OFAC and the Department of State’s Office of Policy and Enforcement of Sanctions pursuant to subsection c. of this General License must file:

• Until February 10, 2020, an initial report detailing all transactions and activities carried out under this General License from November 5, 2019 until February 3, 2020.

 

• Before August 10 of each year, report detailing all transactions and activities carried out under this General License, from January 1 to June 30 of the corresponding year.

 

• Before February 10 of the following year, report detailing the transactions and activities carried out under this General License, from July 1 to December 31 of the corresponding year.

 

The reports, which should refer to General License 35, should be sent to OFAC and the Office of Control and Compliance, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

 

 

 

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1. European Union (“EU”)
2. The Council of the European Union has issued Regulation 2019/1889 of 11 November amending Regulation 2017/2063 on restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela:

 

The following Article is inserted in the text of Regulation 2017/2063:

“Article 18 bis

1. The Council, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (hereinafter referred to as ‘High Representative’) may process personal data in order to carry out their duties under this Regulation. These functions shall include:
   1. as regards to the Council, the preparation and amendments of Annex IV (which lists the natural and legal persons, entities and bodies sanctioned under Article 8(3)) and of Annex V (which lists the natural and legal persons, entities and bodies sanctioned under Article 8(4));

 

1. with regards to the High Representative, the preparation of amendments to the abovementioned Annexes IV and V;

 

1. with regards to the Commission:

 

1. the incorporation of the contents of Annexes IV and V to the consolidated electronic list of persons, groups and entities subject to the Union’s financial restrictive measures and to the interactive sanctions map, both of which are publicly accessible,

 

1. the processing of information on the impact of measures taken under this Regulation, such as the value of frozen funds and information on authorisations granted by the competent authorities.
2. The Council, the Commission and the High Representative may, where appropriate, process relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed natural persons and to criminal convictions of such persons or security measures concerning them only in so far as such processing is necessary for the preparation of Annexes IV and V referred to above.
3. For the purposes of this Regulation, the Council, the Commission service listed in Annex III to this Regulation and the High Representative are designated as “controllers” within the meaning of Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( ), in order to ensure that the natural persons concerned can exercise their rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

In this sense, it is worth mentioning that Article 3.8 defines:

«Controller» or «controller» such as: “the institution or body or the Directorate-General or other organisational entity of the Union which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by a specific Union act, the controller or the specific criteria for its appointment may be established by Union law“.

 

2. The Council of the European Union has also issued Implementing Regulation 2019/1891 of 11 November implementing Regulation 2017/2063 on restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela:

 

Annex IV of Regulation 2017/2063, which sets out the list of individual inclusions of persons subject to restrictive measures under that Regulation, has thus been amended by amending the information relating to eight persons. This has been justified as follows by the Council itself:

 

“Considering the current political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the persistent actions undermining democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the Council decided to extend the existing restrictive measures, including all listings. These measures do not affect the population in general and can be reversed depending on the progress made in restoring democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in Venezuela.

 

3. In addition, the Council of the European Union has issued Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1893 of 11 November 2019 amending Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela:

 

• The following Article is thus inserted in the text of Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074:

“Article 9 bis

1. The Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (hereinafter referred to as High Representative) may process personal data in the exercise of their functions under this Decision, in particular:

 

1. as regards to the Council, for the purposes of preparing and making amendments to Annex I (which lists the individual and legal persons, entities and bodies sanctioned under Articles 6(1) and 7(1)) and Annex II (which lists the juridical and legal persons, entities and bodies sanctioned under Article 7(2));

 

1. with regards to High Representative for the purpose of preparing amendments to the abovementioned Annexes I and II;

 

 

2. The Council and the High Representative may process, where appropriate, relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed individual persons and to criminal convictions of such persons or security measures concerning them only in so far as such processing is necessary for the preparation of Annexes I and II referred to above.

 

3. For the purposes of this Decision, the Council and the High Representative are designated as “controllers” within the meaning of Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council, in order to ensure that the individual persons concerned can exercise their rights under that Regulation¨.

 

• The deadline for implementing Decision 2017/2074 (CFSP) provided for in Article 13 thereof is extended until 14 November 2020, justified as follows by the Council itself in this Decision:

 

“Considering the current political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the persistent actions that undermine democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the existing restrictive measures, including all listings, should be renewed until 14 November 2020. These measures do not affect the population in general and can be reversed depending on the progress made in restoring democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in Venezuela”.

 

• Finally, Annex I to Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074, which establishes the list of individual inclusions of persons subject to restrictive measures under this Decision, is amended by updating the information on the eight persons referred to in Annex IV to Regulation 2017/2063.

 

4. Furthermore, the Council of the European Union has issued the following resolution, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 November 2019: Notice for the attention of the persons subject to the restrictive measures laid down in Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074, as amended by Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1893 and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2063, as implemented by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1891, concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela.

 

The abovementioned Notice informs these persons subject to restrictive measures that ‘they should continue to be included in the list of persons subject to the restrictive measures laid down in Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 and in Regulation (EU) 2017/2063 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela. The reasons justifying the inclusion of these persons are set out in the relevant entries in the annexes.

 

Furthermore, these persons concerned are reminded of “the possibility of submitting to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned, indicated on the websites listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2017/2063 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela, an application for authorisation to use frozen funds for basic needs or to make certain payments”.

 

In this context, and for the purposes of the periodic review by the Council of individual listings in Annex I to Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074, the persons concerned are also informed that “they may submit a request to the Council, before 23 August 2020, together with supporting documentation, to reconsider the decision to include them in the above-mentioned lists”.

 

5. Finally, the Council of the European Union has issued a resolution, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 November 2019, for the attention of interested parties to whom the restrictive measures laid down in Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 and Council Regulation (EU) 2017/2063 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela apply.

 

In it, and in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the data controller is informed of this operation to draw up and update the list of persons subject to restrictive measures under Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074, as amended by Decision (CFSP) 2019/1893, and Regulation (EU) 2017/2063, as implemented by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1891.

 

It is also recalled that “the exercise of the rights of data subjects (such as rights of access, rectification or objection) shall be taken into account, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725”, and that the period of retention of these personal data is “five years from the time when the data subject is no longer on the list of persons subject to the restrictive measures or the validity of the measure has expired, or for the duration of the judicial proceedings if they have begun”.

 

Madrid, 21 November, 2019

Department of International Trade and Sanctions

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