The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has authorized Hungarian energy group MOL and MOL Serbia to continue preparing a potential purchase of the Russian-owned stake in Serbia’s NIS until February 28, 2027. The authorization does not allow the ownership transfer itself, leaving a separate U.S. sanctions decision as a condition for completing a deal involving a company important to Serbia’s fuel supply and refining.
The permitted work includes procedures involving Russian-held securities and approvals from Russian authorities. MOL would need a further OFAC authorization to complete the purchase and formally end Russian ownership and control of NIS; sanctions approval remains decisive for any transfer.
Negotiations involving Serbia, Hungary and Russia are continuing, with the previously stated objective of reaching an agreement by December 11. The extended authorization gives the parties more time to address corporate, regulatory and Russian-government approvals, even if that target slips.
For Serbia, the extension reduces immediate pressure to complete the transaction but does not resolve uncertainty over NIS. The Russian-owned stake remains the potential subject of an acquisition by MOL, and the deadline provides negotiating space rather than certainty that a deal will proceed.
The key unresolved issue is whether OFAC will authorize the actual transfer of the stake. Until that decision, the preparatory authorization does not change NIS’s ownership.