A Blank Rome team achieved the removal of Lokesh Machines Limited, a leading India-based machine tool, precision engineering, and defense production company, from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN”) List.
Lokesh Machines was designated on October 30, 2024, under Executive Order 14024, OFAC’s Russia-related sanctions program, for allegedly operating in the manufacturing sector of the Russian Federation economy and exporting machine tools to Russian manufacturers. The company’s delisting on June 30, 2026, is among the first successful removals of Indian companies from OFAC’s Russia-related sanctions list following the 2024 designations. The delisting proceeding was handled in cooperation with Indian counsel at CMS INDUSLAW.
The designation had significant consequences for Lokesh Machines, including the blocking of assets within U.S. jurisdiction and broad restrictions on dealings with U.S. persons. Blank Rome provided strategic counsel on U.S. sanctions law, co-counseled with CMS INDUSLAW in formulating the delisting strategy, and prepared and filed comprehensive delisting petition to OFAC challenging the designation, and coordinating with the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. The team also supported the company in responding to OFAC’s follow-up inquiries and navigating sanctions compliance, business continuity, and related matters throughout the process.
The Lokesh result, along with recent steps by OFAC to streamline and improve the transparency of its sanctions reconsideration process, show that OFAC stands ready to provide relief to sanctions targets with meritorious grounds for removal.
This delisting is part of Blank Rome’s diverse and growing record of successful sanctions removal outcomes across 2025 and 2026. The firm has secured favorable results for clients across a range of sanctions programs and fact patterns, including the delisting of UAE-based shipowner Swedish Management, the removal of a misidentified Chinese-owned sanctioned vessel MV Xuan Ning, the delisting of Greek maritime company Altomare SA and its vessel, Kallista, which were victims of an elaborate maritime identity-theft scheme, the successful removal of an Eastern European client from OFAC’s Foreign Sanctions Evaders List, and securing a unique OFAC licensing solution for the sale and scrapping of certain sanctioned vessels, demonstrating the breadth of the firm’s sanctions advisory and advocacy capabilities.
The Blank Rome team was led by William E. Lawler and Matthew J. Thomas with assistance from Alan G. Kashdan and Layla S. Najjar.