JPM & Partners has provided the initial brief analysis in January 21st, 2025, when the sanction against NIS were announced , in which we have provided the legal basis for the imposing of sanctions (Executive Order 14024 and Executive Order 14071). The direct consequence of these executive orders is that the property and legal interest related to the assets of NIS and its subsidiaries that are located in the United States or will be located in the United States or are owned or controlled by U.S. persons (or will be in their possession or control) are blocked by the United States.
NIS is the majority owner of several other companies in Serbia and the region active in the energy and such companies are consequently also subject to the sanctions based on the criteria of majority ownership by a sanctioned entity, although none of those companies are listed in the OFAC’s sanctions lists. Such entities are, NIS Petrol AD Beograd, NIS MET Energowind doo Beograd, Naftagas-naftni servisi DOO Novi Sad, Naftagas-tehnički servisi DOO Zrenjanin, NTC NIS-Naftagas DOO Novi Sad, NIS MTO DOO Beograd, OOO NIS Oversiz Sankt Peterburg, NIS Petrol EOOD Sofija, NIS Petrol SRL Bukurešt, NIS Petrol DOO Banja Luka, G-Petrol DOO Sarajevo, Jadran-Naftagas DOO Banja Luka and HIP Petrohemija doo Pančevo. Therefore, these companies may also face the consequences of the OFAC sanctions to NIS.
As NIS does not possess the property in the United States, the immediate consequences of the full application of sanctions are related to its co-operation with suppliers and buyers:
- JANAF has stopped co-operation with NIS; and
- consumers at the gas stations cannot pay for the fuel with Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards.
The suppliers and buyers are considering whether their co-operation with NIS may fall under the scrutiny of OFAC sanctions, as the Executive Orders provide the possibility for imposing the same sanctions to persons who are providing the assistance, support, goods or services to a sanctioned entity. Especially the financial institutions are the most exposed parties, as OFAC may find them to be conducting or facilitating transactions for or on behalf of sanctioned persons, which is also ground for imposing the sanctions against such entities.
Bearing in mind the complexity of this issue, as well as the fact that this type of sanctions is being applied for the first time to an business entity established in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia, and especially having in mind the geopolitical context and wider commercial effects of influencing both the operations of individual business entities in the Republic of Serbia and the market economy in the Republic of Serbia, an analysis of the potential risk to suppliers and customers must be carried out on a case-by-case basis.
This analysis is provided by Senior Partner Jelena Gazivoda, Partner Nikola Djordjević and Senior Associate Marko Mrđa from JPM Belgrade office.
