Back

Declaration of John E. Smith in OI European Group B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1:19-mc-00290) (Dkt. 95, D. Del 2021)

Date issued: May. 05 2021

Last substantive commentary amendment:
May. 01 2023

You've hit a wall. Sign in if you have an account, learn more about TURBOFAC and subscription options, or purchase access to the text of the document on this page, the native .pdf file, and the associated TURBOFAC original commentary.
TURBOFAC is a module of the compliance platform OverRuled. To learn more about OverRuled, visit www.overruled.com.

PRINT
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

OI EUROPEAN GROUP B.V.,
Plaintiff,
v.
BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA,
Defendant.

C.A. No. 19-mc-290 (LPS)

DECLARATION OF JOHN E. SMITH

I, John E. Smith, hereby declare under penalty of perjury, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, that the following is true and correct:

I. Introduction and Qualifications

1. I am a partner in the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP, which has been retained by Plaintiff and judgment creditor OI European Group B.V. (“OIEG”) in the above-captioned action.

2. I make this declaration in support of Plaintiff’s Post-Hearing Brief in Support of Its Renewed Motion for an Order Authorizing the Issuance of a Writ of Attachment Fieri Facias.

3. I have been asked to assume the accuracy of the statements set out in the “Assumptions” section...

Click the appropriate link below for access to this file.

Click the appropriate link below for access to this file.

TURBOFAC Commentary (1244 words)

Notes:

1) BACKGROUND
We ordinarily only include on-the-record statements on high ranking OFAC officials in the Research System when those officials are speaking on behalf of the agency, but this declaration from OFAC’s most recently departed (as of 2021) director provides a window into certain of OFAC’s licensing policies and practices that is both unique on substance and reliable. While the declaration was made at the behest of a private litigant, it was made under penalty of perjury, in connection with a case that OFAC is closely watching, and it was made relatively close in time to the former director's tenure at OFAC, so there is little reason to suspect that the statements in the declaration would not reflect OFAC's practices as of the date on which the declaration was made.

2a) EXPLANATION FOR OFAC’S NARROW INTERPRETATIONS OF THE BASIC BLOCKING PROHIBITION...