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Excerpts:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
31 CFR Part 515
Cuban Assets Control Regulations
AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury. ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is amending the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to further implement portions of the President’s foreign policy toward Cuba to deny the Cuban government access to funds in connection with remittances to Cuba.
DATES: This rule is effective [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].
Background
The Department of the Treasury issued the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR part 515 (the “Regulations”), on July 8, 1963, under various authorities, including the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4301–41). OFAC has amended the Regulations on numerous occasions, including to implement the President’s foreign policy toward Cuba as set forth in National Security Presidential Memorandum-5, “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba,” signed by the President on June 16, 2017.
This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/27/2020 and available online at federalregister.gov/d/2020-23725, and on govinfo.gov
Today, OFAC, in consultation with the State Department, is taking additional action to implement the Administration’s foreign policy toward Cuba, as set forth in more detail below. This rule provides for a 30-day implementation period before it is effective in order to allow for technical implementation of these additional restrictions.
OFAC is amending the Regulations to remove from the scope of certain remittance related general authorizations any transactions involving entities or subentities identified on the Cuba Restricted List, as maintained by the State Department and published in the Federal Register. This action is intended to restrict such entities’ and subentities’ access to funds obtained in connection with remittance-related activities, including in their role as intermediaries or in their receipt of fees or commissions from processing remittance transactions. Specifically, OFAC is amending three general licenses in Subpart E of the Regulations to exclude from the scope of such authorizations any transaction involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List: (i) § 515.570, which relates to remittances from persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction or from blocked accounts; (ii) § 515.572(a)(3), which relates to the provision of remittance forwarding services; and (iii) § 515.587, which relates to remittances from Cuban nationals to persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction. OFAC is also amending § 515.421, which provides interpretative guidance with respect to transactions ordinarily incident to a licensed transaction, to make clear that a transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List is not authorized as an ordinarily incident transaction where the terms of the general or specific license expressly exclude any such transactions. Because the amendments to §§ 515.570, 515.572(a)(3), and 515.587 expressly exclude these remittance-related transactions involving any entity or subentity on the Cuba Restricted List, upon the effective date of this rule, such transactions will not be authorized as ordinarily incident to licensed transactions under those provisions. OFAC is also adding a clarifying note in § 515.209 consistent with the amended § 515.421.
A transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving an entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List is not authorized as a transaction ordinarily incident to a licensed transaction where the terms of the applicable general or specific license expressly exclude any such transactions. See §§ 515.570, 515.572(a)(3), and 515.587.
The addition reads as follows: § 515.421 Transactions ordinarily incident to a licensed transaction. (a) * * * (7) A transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List, as published in the Federal Register and maintained by the State Department and available at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/, where the terms of the applicable general or specific license expressly exclude any such transactions.
The addition reads as follows: § 515.570 Remittances. * * * * * (j) Remittance transactions with entities or subentities on the Cuba Restricted List prohibited. Nothing in paragraphs (a) through (i) authorizes a transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List, as published in the Federal Register and maintained by the State Department and available at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/.
Nothing in this paragraph (a)(3) authorizes a transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List, as published in the Federal Register and maintained by the State Department and available at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/.”
Amend § 515.587 by adding a sentence at the end of the section to read as follows: § 515.587 Remittances from Cuban nationals to persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction. *** Nothing in this paragraph authorizes a transaction relating to the collection, forwarding, or receipt of remittances involving any entity or subentity identified on the Cuba Restricted List, as published in the Federal Register and maintained by the State Department and available at https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/.”
