Subject: VENEZUELA-EO13850-2022-954785-1
Date: Friday, July 29, 2022 at 4:10:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Dear Mr. Gamardo,
I received your request dated July 22, 2022, to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, on behalf of Casa Express Corp, requesting an authorization to litigate in the case styled Casa Express Corp v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al. Case No. 1:21-23103-BB, which is pending at the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Based on information provided in the Application, it appears to me that the client is not blocked persons pursuant to the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, and it appears to me that the proposed activities are not prohibited by Venezuela Sanctions Regulations. To the extent this is accurate, and to the extent your epresentation/client do not involve persons blocked consistent with Venezuela Sanctions...
1) After rejecting the Casa Express' request for a license to execute against property of Raul Gorrin to satisfy a judgment against the Government of Venezuela (Case No. VENEZUELA-EO13850-2021-874564-1 ), Casa Express (the applicant here) requested a license "for the limited purpose of obtaining a specific license that would authorize it to litigate its post-judgment collection theory" (that Gorrin's property was actually property of the Government of Venezuela through the state law-derived "constructive trust" theory).
2) The licensing officer's response was that Casa Express Corp "is not blocked person" pursuant to the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, and [] the proposed activities are not prohibited by Venezuela Sanctions Regulations," so the "litigation would not appear to require a license from OFAC." While not delivered in the form of an official guidance letter, this determination is notable as it implicitly distinguishes between cases...