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THE United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has removed ZimRe Holdings Limited (ZHL) Group from its sanctions list.
ZHL had been on the US sanctions list since July 25, 2008, following the signing of an Executive Order by then President George Bush that expanded the sanctions list to include companies registered in Zimbabwe perceived to be owned or controlled by the Government of Zimbabwe.
The US and its allies slapped the country and its key institutions with illegal sanctions at the turn of the millennium in protest against the historic land reform programme. Several firms have since been removed from the sanctions list.
The sanctions on ZimRe had a negative impact on the Group’s ability to trade freely on the international and regional markets.
OFAC reported its delisting of ZimRe on its website effective January 12, 2017.
“OFAC took action after ZimRe submitted a petition for removal in late 2016,” ZimRe’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stanley Kudenga, said yesterday.
“ZimRe appreciates OFAC’s quick action and deletion of ZimRe from OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals. This is a positive start to 2017, and ZimRe looks forward to continuing to grow its business in 2017 and beyond.”
Through its subsidiaries, ZimRe provides general insurance, reinsurance, life reassurance and health, insurance and reinsurance broking, and property services in Zimbabwe and internationally.
OFAC is a division within the US Department of Treasury responsible for implementing and enforcing economic sanctions on individuals and companies perceived to be acting contrary to the interests of the US government.
The Group said it had been forced to adopt a multi-branding strategy in order to mitigate the effects of the restrictive measures, which resulted in loss of benefits associated with using a strong and mature brand.
As a result of the embargo, the group said it was not able to attract foreign investors to buy its shares or inject capital into the business especially after the adoption of the multi-currency regime in Zimbabwe.
It said its businesses were not able to access foreign lines of credit because of the sanctions and that its regional units faced stigmatisation in the market and lost business. These factors negatively affected the performance and profitability of the ZimRe Group.
The sanctions not only applied to ZHL as an entity but to all other organisations associated with or where ZHL had an interest. The Group’s assets including cash were also blocked while cash remittances were intercepted without notice and never reached ZHL or the intended business partners.
Companies especially those based in the regional markets were prohibited from opening bank accounts with international banks.
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