This Week at the Department of the Treasury — week of May 4, 2026

This week the Treasury Department published and republished a series of sanctions general licenses and removed outdated regulations. Most of these actions are administrative updates that keep existing permissions current or give businesses a short window to end relationships with newly sanctioned entities.

Sanctions licenses for energy transactions

• Venezuelan oil: OFAC republished the current text of General License 46B, which allows certain U.S. companies to buy, sell, transport, or refine Venezuelan oil. The license was originally issued in January and replaced twice; this week’s Federal Register entry puts the existing text into the official regulations.
• Venezuelan oil services: OFAC also published General Licenses 47 through 50, which authorize normally banned transactions with Venezuela’s oil sector, such as selling diluents and oil services, without case-by-case approvals. Some of these licenses are marked “superseded,” meaning their current status may differ from the published text.
• Russia-related energy: OFAC renewed four general licenses covering Sakhalin-2, nuclear energy, and Lukoil. These renewals extend existing permissions for transactions normally blocked by Russia sanctions, allowing affected businesses to keep operating under the current rules without new approvals.

Temporary wind-downs and close-out licenses

• Rwanda Defence Force: A new general license permits people and businesses to close out existing deals with the Rwanda Defence Force or companies it owns at least half of. The window runs through April 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
• Kovay Gardens: General License 34, issued February 19, 2026, provides a temporary window to wrap up business with Kovay Gardens. It does not lift sanctions; it only allows final steps like settling accounts and ending business relationships.
• Belarus entities: General License 14 temporarily allows certain transactions with Belarussian Bank of Development and Reconstruction Belinvestbank, its engineering subsidiary, and CJSC Belbizneslizing, plus companies those three own 50 percent or more of.
• Iranian vessels: OFAC published two temporary general licenses, S and T, covering transactions involving specific ships and companies with U.S. assets frozen under Iran sanctions. They expire January 18, 2026, and February 22, 2026. The licenses keep listed vessels from becoming stranded or environmental hazards without changing the broader Iran sanctions framework.

Administrative cleanup

• The Bureau of the Fiscal Service removed outdated regulations on FHA debentures and rural electrification certificates from the Code of Federal Regulations. These rules cover financial instruments no longer in use, so deleting them streamlines government paperwork.

---

This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.