General License 57 (GL 57), issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on April 14, 2026, authorizes financial services involving the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) and state-owned banks such as Banco de Venezuela, Banco del Tesoro, and Banco Digital de los Trabajadores.
It permits operations including account maintenance, lending, U.S. dollar transfers, and payroll processing. A key aspect is that it facilitates the reintegration of the BCV into the SWIFT system, enabling the receipt of direct payments from oil exports without intermediaries.
However, this measure does not imply a full lifting of sanctions, nor does it exempt compliance with regulations such as the USA PATRIOT Act or the Bank Secrecy Act. It also does not entail the unfreezing of blocked assets or international reserves, nor does it authorize transactions with individuals listed on the SDN List.
In this context, the measure is intended to facilitate banking operations and the flow of funds necessary for ordinary economic activity, as well as to reduce the need for intermediaries in the remittance inflow process within the country.
