US District Court declines to grant injunction preventing OFAC from imposing sanctions on a company taken over by Venezuelan government

16 December 2025

The US District Court for the District of Columbia has rejected an application for a declaration and an injunction preventing OFAC from imposing future sanctions on a company called Turboven because of its subsidiaries’ activities in Venezuela – Turboven Company v Smith.

Two subsidiaries of Turboven Company ran power plants in Venezuela which supplied electricity to MCELD. In 2023, the Venezuelan government took control of MCELD and the Turboven subsidiaries suspended their provision of electricity to MCELD. This led the Venezuelan government to take control of both Turboven subsidiaries’s power plants. Venezuela now operates both power plants under Turboven’s branding, but Turboven no longer controls either subsidiary.

Turboven asked the court to declare that it was not involved in illegal activities relating to Venezuela’s control of the Turboven subsidiaries and to grant a permanent injunction restraining OFAC from sanctioning Turboven.  The Court rejected Turboven’s application on the grounds that:

• Turboven lacked standing because there was no evidence to suggest that OFAC was planning to impose sanctions, so there was no actual or imminent injury which would justify the court granting the injunction or declaratory relief.

• Turboven could not use the Mandamus Act to found federal court jurisdiction for the injunction application because OFAC had a discretion not a duty.