Belarus Sanctions Regulations

The Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, has published in the Federal Register a new regulation which entirely replaces Statutory Instrument 31 CFR Part 548, a sanctions regulation to set out the legal framework for sanctioning Belarus and Belarus entities and persons that pose a threat on the U.S. economy, U.S. people, and the country as a whole. The reissued Statutory Instrument includes additional interpretive guidance, definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions pursuant to Executive Order 13851 which primarily permitted additional sanction measures upon persons, entities, and the Belarus government that were engaged in the „fraudulent Belarusian presidential election“ in 2020 and in the elimination of political opposition thereafter. Some of the key „amendments“ made to Part 548 are as follows:
– integration of several new terms and definitions;
– integration of a new provision to stipulate the additional grounds for sanctioning the Belarus government, persons, and entities as noted above and to include further reasons for sanctioning such parties, such as the engagement in the defense and related materiel sector of Belarus or the engagement in corruption;
– integration of a new provision to prohibit the donation of ANY article to sanctioned firms, bodies, or individuals;
– integration of a new provision to prohibit any attempt to circumvent this instrument and the provisions thereunder; and
– removal of the requirement to have the transfer of funds authorized so long as such are used for the payment of legal services or emergency medical services.
As these are only the key changes to 31 CFR Part 548, please review the original document for detailed, more comprehensive information.