939. What does Belarus General License 5 (GL 5), “Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Involving Open Joint Stock Company Belarusian Potash Company or Agrorozkvit LLC,” authorize?
GL 5 authorizes, through 12:01a.m. eastern standard time, April 1, 2022, all transactions and activities prohibited by Executive Order (E.O.) 14038 that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of transactions involving Open Joint Stock Company Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) or Agrorozkvit LLC, or any entity in which BPC or Agrorozkvit LLC owns, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest, including the wind down of such transactions in which Belaruskali OAO has a property interest (e.g., certain resale transactions by BPC or Agrorozkvit LLC of product sourced from Belaruskali OAO).
However, GL 5 does not authorize direct transactions with Belaruskali OAO, and does not extend Belarus GL 4, which expires at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, December 8, 2021. Please see FAQ 918 for further details on the scope of GL 4.
GL 5 also does not authorize the entry into new purchase contracts, or the stockpiling of inventory, involving BPC or Agrorozkvit LLC, or any entity in which BPC or Agrorozkvit LLC owns, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest, that are not ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of transactions.
Date Released
December 2, 2021
1) This FAQ is similar to other FAQs (see e.g. FAQ # 841 and FAQ # 883) addressing designations of individual entities that were made in conjunction with the issuance of a wind-down license. A difference between this FAQ and the typical one is that OFAC says that the GL does not "authorize the entry into new purchase contracts, or the stockpiling of inventory". Refer to comments to FAQ # 918 for a discussion of the significance of that phrase.
2) See generally Examples of Transactions Deemed to be, and not to be, Within the Scope of the Standard "Wind-down" and "Maintenance" GLs.
3) Refer to Belarus General License 5, and comments thereto, for discussion of the irregular nature of GL 5, particularly insofar as it overlaps in scope with Belarus General License 4 and acts to effectively extend GL 4 through the authorization of transactions of a type that are authorized by GL 4.
4) As discussed in detail in the comments to GL 5, the relationship between Belaruskali and BPC and Agrorozkvit is such that Belaruskali is the major Belarisuan producer of potash, and BPC and Agrorozkvit are exporters of such potash, but those entities are not majority-owned by Belaruskali. In the FAQ, OFAC states that Belaruskali would have an “interest” in “certain resale transactions by BPC or Agrorozkvit LLC of product sourced from Belaruskali”. On that issue, refer generally to General Note on the Notion of an "Interest in Property" as Applied to Physical Goods and Technology Produced or Processed in Whole or in Part by Blocked Persons. It is not necessarily the case that U.S. persons would, even after the expiry of GL 5, be prohibited from all dealings in Belaruskali-produced items.