U.S. Treasury extends Citgo’s protection against creditors for 3 Months

Jan 17, 2017 (Reuters) – On Tuesday, the United States extended for three more months a license protecting Citgo Petroleum, Venezuela’s oil refiner, from creditors who want to sell its assets to pay pending debt.

The general license 5J of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was extended to April 20 by OFAC.

According to OFAC, transactions related to the transfer or sale of Citgo shares as part of the PDVSA 2020 bond 8.5 percent are prohibited unless they have been specifically authorized by OFAC.

OFAC stated that additional licensing requirements could apply in the event of an agreement regarding proposals to restructure, refinance or repay payments due to holders of the PDVSA2020 bond.

“OFAC would encourage parties and have a favorable licensing strategy toward such an arrangement,” it said. (Reporting and editing by Marianna Perraga; editing by Gary McWilliams