On May 31, 2024, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued an additional amendment of General License INT/2022/1280876, which was originally issued on March 1, 2022 under Regulation 64 of the Russia (Sanctions)(EU Exit) Regulation 2019. This license temporarily authorizes specific Russian banks and their EU, Guernsey and EU subsidiaries to make or receive certain payments related to basic needs (i.e., insurance premiums and mortgage/utility payments), reasonable fees or service charges related to frozen funds, and reasonable professional fees related to the provision of legal services. The recent amendment permits “a scheme of arrangement prepared by the Joint Administrators of VTB Capital plc.” For a full overview of new permissions and definitions provided by this amendment, OFSI recommends that users review a copy of the license, and, in particular, paragraphs 5.3(a) – 5.7. On May 31, 2024, the license was also extended to expire on April 3, 2030.
General License INT/2022/1280876 | Publication Notice – General License INT/2022/1280876