New General License Issued for the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions

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The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published a new general license related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) sanctions. This was made available in the Federal Register, Volume 91, Issue 88, on Thursday, May 7, 2026. The general license is part of the DRC Sanctions Regulations found in 31 CFR Part 547.

Background and Information

OFAC issued General License No. 1 on March 2, 2026. It allows certain transactions that are usually not permitted. These transactions involve the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) or any group where RDF has a 50% or greater interest.

The General License is available online on the OFAC website.

Details of the General License

General License No. 1 lets some transactions happen. These are needed for winding down transactions with the Rwanda Defence Force. It is important that any payments to blocked persons go into a blocked account. This will follow the DRC Sanctions Regulations.

  • Transactions involving RDF are allowed through April 1, 2026, ending at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
  • Payments to blocked persons must go into blocked accounts.
  • The license does not allow any other forbidden transactions under the DRC Sanctions Regulations.

Bradley T. Smith, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, signed off on this General License. He did this on March 2, 2026.

Contact Information

For more details, contact the OFAC Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs at 202-622-4855. More information is also on the OFAC website.

The ultimate goal is to manage and regulate transactions regarding DRC sanctions effectively. This move represents a strategic decision by OFAC to handle certain unavoidable transactions in a controlled manner.


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