Nynas foresees removal of US sanctions ‘within weeks’

Stockholm – US authorities are prepared to remove sanctions against Nynas AB, once proposals to change the shareholder structure are enacted, the company has announced.

The Swedish process oils manufacturer filed for administration at Södertörn's District Court on 13 Dec 2019 as banks had withdrawn credit facilities and it was unable to pay due debts.

The financial problems were linked to sanctions imposed by the US treasury department’s office of foreign asset control (OFAC) on Nynas’s main shareholder PDVSA of Venezuela.

But in a statement issued 12 March, Nynas said it had now applied for a three-month extension of its restructuring process, which would see PDVSA reduce its 50% stake in the company. 

Company shareholders, it stated, had agreed to changes in the ownership structure and presented them to the US agency. 

“OFAC has now responded that the proposed changes are satisfactory," said the Nynas statement.

Once the proposals are executed, OFAC is ready to "swiftly initiate its internal process for the removal of sanctions applicable to Nynas,” the company added.

Nynas said it estimated that it would take “a few weeks” to implement the measures and actions required to satisfy OFAC’s demands.

The company is “working intensely to carry these [steps] out as soon as possible,” it added.