Issuance of Executive Order Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition

The Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, has published a press statement to announce the issuance of a new Executive Order (E.O.) on „Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition“ by President Joseph Biden. The issuance follows weeks of violence in the Sudan and the killing of hundreds of civilians, causing a hardly ever seen before humanitarian crises in the country. In the new E.O., the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may impose asset freezing measures on and restrictions on the making available of funds to persons and entities that
(1) threaten the peace and stability in Sudan;
(2) engage in human rights violations in Sudan;
(3) suppress the civil population in the country; or
(4) undermine or threaten Sudan’s transition to democracy, to name a few.
The order also prohibits to receive funds from any designated person or entity or to make donations to such. Finally, designated persons and entities are prohibited from entering US territory.
Concurrently, OFAC has updated one frequently asked question in this context which reads as follows – as quoted:
FAQ 836: What sanctions are applicable to Sudan and the Government of Sudan?
Answer: The national emergency declared with respect to the Government of Sudan in Executive Order (E.O.) 13067 of November 3, 1997 — as expanded upon in scope by subsequent E.O.s — remains in effect. As detailed below, certain sanctions have been imposed and others have been lifted pursuant to that national emergency, in response to developments in Sudan.
The following sanctions authorities are in effect with respect to Sudan:
Executive Order of May 4, 2023, among other things, authorizes the imposition of sanctions on foreign persons to address the situation in Sudan following the military’s seizure of power in October 2021 and the outbreak of inter-service fighting in April 2023, and to support a transition to democracy and civilian transitional government in Sudan.
E.O. 13400 of April 26, 2006 imposes sanctions on individuals and entities in connection with the conflict in Darfur and, in part, implements sanctions with respect to that conflict adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
The following sanctions authorities are no longer in effect with respect to Sudan:
Effective October 12, 2017, sections 1 and 2 of E.O. 13067 of November 3, 1997 and all of E.O. 13412 of October 13, 2006 were revoked, pursuant to E.O. 13761 of January 13, 2017, as amended by E.O. 13804 of July 11, 2017. To reflect this revocation of authorities, OFAC removed the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 538 (SSR) from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) on June 29, 2018. U.S. persons are not broadly prohibited from engaging in transactions with respect to Sudan or the Government of Sudan that were previously prohibited solely by the SSR. In addition, following the revocation of sections 1 and 2 of E.O. 13067 and E.O. 13412, persons designated solely pursuant to the blocking authorities of E.O. 13067 or E.O. 13412 were removed from OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).
The determination regarding Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism was rescinded on December 14, 2020. Accordingly, Sudan is no longer subject to prohibitions under the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 596 (TLGSR), or section 906(a)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7205).
Note that the revocation of the aforementioned sanctions authorities does not affect past, present, or future OFAC enforcement investigations or actions associated with any apparent violations of the SSR that occurred prior to October 12, 2017 or of the TLGSR prior to December 14, 2020.