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Case No. UKRAINE-EO13662-2015-323301-1
United States Olympic Committee
1100 H Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20005
Attn: Karen Irish, Associate Director of Government Relations
Dear Ms. Irish:
This is in response to your request of October 20, 2015 (the “Application”), to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) seeking a specific license to authorize U.S. junior-level athletes and coaches, all members of USA Hockey, which is the official National Governing Body for the sport of hockey in the United States, to participate in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior (U-20) Championships (the “Championships”) from December 26, 2015 to January 5, 2016, at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.
The Ukraine-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 589 (the “Regulations”) prohibit all transactions prohibited pursuant to Executive Order 13660 of March 6,...
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1) BACKGROUND
At the time the application was made and the guidance letter was issued, Helsinki Halli Oy "own[ed] and operate[d] Hartwall Arena" (see letter). Helsinki Halli Oy was widely reported as being ~45 percent owned by a holding company (Arena Events) that was "50 percent owned by Langvik Capital, a Finland-based investment company owned by 'the Rotenberg family, and 50 percent owned by a Luxembourg-based company owned by [Gennady] Timchenko." At the relevant times, Timchenko was an SDN, and the two 25% "Rotenberg" owners, i.e. Boris and Arkady Rotenberg, were also both SDNS. (See e.g. May 10, 2014 article at https://www.rferl.org/amp/sanctions-american-companies-jittery-russian-business-ties-us/25380189.html). Meanwhile, as discussed in the guidance letter, OFAC's 50% rule applied to any entity "in which such blocked persons own, whether individually or in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or...