Sanctions 12 Dec, 2019 OFAC Designation Of Ventspils Port Tim Davies Head of Claims (Eastern Team) A number of Members have sought clarification from the Managers about the impact of the recent designation of Ventspils Ports. Download PDF OFAC have designated Latvian oligarch Aivars Lembergs and four Latvia-based entities that are owned or controlled by him: Ventspils Freeport Authority, Ventspils Attistibas Agentura (also known as Ventspils Development Agency), Biznesa Attistibas Asociacija (also known as Business Development Association), and Latvijas Tranzita Biznesa Asociacija (also known as Latvian Transit Business Association). OFAC simultaneously issued Global Magnitsky General License No. 1, which authorizes certain transactions and activities that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of transactions involving the four entities or any entity in which one or more of them owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest, for a 30-day period (i.e., until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 8, 2020). As a result of the designations under E.O. 13818, all property in the U.S. or possession of U.S. persons of Ventspils Freeport and the other designees (and any entities owned 50% or more by them) are blocked. Further, absent authorization or an exemption, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transaction that involves Ventspils Freeport or other designees. Therefore, U.S. persons will be prohibited as of January 8 (when the wind-down period expires) from engaging in any transactions with Ventspils Freeport absent authorization or exemption. Insofar as non-U.S. persons are concerned, under section 1(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 13818, sanctions are authorized against any person who is determined to have materially assisted or provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, among others, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked under the E.O. As suc