U.S. announces revised sanctions regulations against South Sudan

WASHINGTON, MAY 19, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced plans to issue a revised set of sanctions regulations against South Sudan.

The proposed new regulations aim to expand a more comprehensive regulatory program, provide additional interpretive and definitional guidance, and issue certain general licenses.

South Sudan has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 for widespread violence and human rights abuses.

Although the country is not embargoed like Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, U.S. persons can only conduct transactions unless the counterparty, or another interested party is on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (the “SDN List”).

While the SDN List is publicly searchable through OFAC’s website, the implementation of the 50% Rule adds complexity to the issue. Any entity owned by 50% or more of one or more SDNs is considered an SDN, even if it’s not listed by name on the SDN List.

According to the US Treasury, any U.S. person intending to engage in business in, through, or with anyone from South Sudan must engage in proper due diligence to guarantee that no SDN, whether or not listed by name, benefits from the transaction.

The proposed revision to the sanctions will aim to impose a more robust regulatory program to thwart any business engagements involving individuals participating in human rights’ abuses or violence in South Sudan.

The OFAC seeks to issue the new sanctions regulations soonest possible to limit or prevent parties from conducting transactions that benefit or reward bad actors in South Sudan.