OFAC FAQ (Current) # 942 - Belarus Sanctions

Date issued: Dec. 02 2021

TURBOFAC Commentary (165 words)

Notes:

1) This FAQ specifies that the modification of "terms" of pre-existing debt renders the modified agreement "new debt" within the meaning of the Directive. The terms referenced "include" (but are not necessarily limited to) "repayment period, the interest rate, and the amount". Compare FAQ 553, which provides in part as follows:

There are presumably some procedural aspects of 'old debt" agreements that could be modified without triggering the "new debt" prohibition—e.g. the replacement of a transfer agent in the event that the transfer agent whose name is included in the original agreement ceases to exist—but OFAC’s position on the question if difficult to discern. See Dresser-Rand Company v. Petroleos De Venezuela, S.A. (1:19-cv-02689, dkt. 150) (SDNY, 2021), interpreting a similar FAQ issued in the Venezuela context such that "inconsequential" administrative changes do not transform preexisting debt into new debt.

* See generally General Note on the Prohibitions on Dealings in “New Debt” of Certain Sanctions Targets (System Ed. Note)