Ed. Note: if you’re new to TURBOFAC, please take note that the text string filtration function generally shouldn’t be used for terms such as “ordinarily resident,” “causing” or “new debt”. For research on the meaning of words and phrases such as those, i.e. terms central to the key legal issues in sanctions law that appear on a cross-programmatic basis, you’re typically better off locating and checking the appropriate box in the “Key Legal Issues” search category, which will limit the results to those that have been manually assessed as being relevant for the interpretation of the terms at issue.
Try typing your search term (“ordinarily resident,” “new debt,” or something else) in the “Find a Search Filter” box at the top of the page, and the corresponding “Key Legal Issues” check box will pop up instantly, if one exists. Once you check the box (e.g. “new debt,” with ~55 results), you can always use the text string filtration function to further refine your search (e.g. by typing “invoice” and narrowing the ~55 results to ~10).
Note in addition that the same applies to text string searches such as “14071” (if you’re looking for items related to EO 14071). By typing “14071” in the “Find a Search Filter” field up top, you will be able to instantly narrow the results down to items manually assessed as relating to EO 14071. Ditto terms such as “515.204” or “Iran General License G” (try the “Discrete Legal Provision” search category).
Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions on search results and efficiency.
Please click "Apply Text String Filters" again after clicking the "Close" button immediately below.
Note: this FAQ and comments thereto were posted/written prior to the blocking of the Government of Venezuela pursuant to EO 13884. Neither the FAQ nor the comment have been updated in light of that development.
1) Subsequent to the issue of this FAQ, both PdVSA and the President of PdVSA were designated as SDNs [1]. See Venezuela GL 12, authorizing divestment in certain debt in which PdVSA has an interest. Much of what is contemplated as permissible when this FAQ was released is now prohibited.
[1] See https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm612; https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm594
2) This FAQ is not an application of the 50% rule or the notion of what constitutes “ownership” or “control” of an entity. Rather, it is a provision-specific interpretation of the scope of the term "PdVSA" as it appears in EO 13808.
It is not clear how OFAC would interpret the term "subsidiary," as it is used here and in Venezuela GL 2. Subsidiary is not a legally significant term for the purposes of the ordinary OFAC-administered sanctions program. The SEC defines the term keying off of control, rather than ownership:
"(l)Subsidiary. A "subsidiary" of a specified person is an affiliated person who is controlled by the specified person, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries. (17 CFR 270.8b-2)"
Note that PdVSA has/had several subsidiaries operating in non-oil sectors, for the purposes of this FAQ, see:
http://www.PdVSA.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6565&Itemid=906&lang=en