May U.S. persons do business with a foreign company in which blocked persons hold, individually or in the aggregate, a less than 50 percent interest? Are foreign persons, including foreign financial institutions, subject to sanctions under section 10 of SSIDES, as amended by section 228 of CAATSA, and section 5 of UFSA, as amended by section 226 of CAATSA, for doing business with a foreign company in which blocked persons hold, individually or in the aggregate, a less than 50 percent interest?

OFAC's answer

If one or more blocked persons does not hold, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest in a foreign company, the foreign company is not itself blocked by virtue of [OFAC’s 50 percent rule](https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1521), and U.S. persons generally are not prohibited from engaging in transactions with the foreign company unless otherwise prohibited (for example, a transaction with the foreign company that specifically involves a blocked person). Likewise, as described in FAQs [542](https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/542) and [545](https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/545), if foreign persons, including foreign financial institutions, are engaging in transactions with such a foreign company, such transactions would not be considered “[significant](https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/545)​” for the purposes of a sanctions determination under section 10 of [SSIDES](https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/5806/download?inline), as amended by[CAATSA](https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/5696/download?inline), or [section 5 of UFSA](https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/5811/download?inline), as amended by CAATSA. The foregoing does not apply if the ownership in the foreign company by one or more blocked persons, individually or in the aggregate, rises to or above 50 percent.

Related programs

Related FAQs

• #542How does OFAC interpret the following terms as used in section 5 of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (UFSA), as amended by section 226 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), now incorporated into § 589.209 of the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations (URSR): “significant transaction,” “significant financial transaction,” and “facilitated?”
• #545What do the following key terms in section 10 of the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 (SSIDES), as amended by section 228 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), mean: “foreign person,” “knowingly,” “materially violate,” “facilitates . . . for or on behalf of,” “significant transaction,” and “deceptive or structured transaction”?