WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2020) The United States has authorized a wind-down period for transactions with the Russian automotive conglomerate GAZ Group until January 26, 2022, the US Treasury Department said in a notice on Wednesday.
"[A]ll transactions and activities otherwise prohibited by the Ukraine Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 589, that are ordinarily incident and necessary (1) to divest or transfer debt, equity, or other holdings in GAZ Group to a non-US person, or (2) to facilitate the transfer of debt, equity, or other holdings in GAZ Group by a non-US person to another non-US person, are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, January 26, 2022," the letter said.
The general license does not authorize unblocking of certain property and specific kinds of transactions between US persons and the GAZ Group. The previous deadline for cutting ties with the GAZ Group was January 22, 2021.
The United States imposed sanctions on the GAZ Group last April, but has since issued several general licenses allowing US investors to continue conducting limited transactions with the Russian auto-maker.
The GAZ Group is part of Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska's business empire. The United States targeted the automaker along with Deripaska's companies Rusal and EN+ Group over what Washington has described as Russia's "malign activities" in Ukraine.
In January 2019, the US Treasury Department lifted the sanctions on EN+ and Rusal.
