Sanctions

The United States Treasury Department’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on November 14 a new round of sanctions targeting two members of the Katerji Group Company, a fleet of 11 vessels associated with the group, and nine companies that operate these vessels. 

On October 16, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned three individuals for their involvement in Syria’s captagon industry. Two of them are Syrians (Raji Falhout and AbdulLatif Hamideh) and Khaldoun Hamieh is a Lebanese national.

The Central Bank of Syria and the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria authorities have recently issued warnings against dealing with the so-called frozen dollars and have warned about the rising number of advertisements in social media offering them.

The U.S. has amended its Syrian Sanctions Regulations incorporating several executive orders and sanctions status into a single regulation, and clarifying and expanding the sanction’s exemptions related to the activities of NGOs, international organisations, and internet authorisations.

The U.S. has announced a new round of sanctions targeting the captagon drug trade, the mining export sector and money exchange companies that are helping the Syrian regime evade sanctions.

The United States has doubled down on its Syria sanctions strategy with the passing of the ‘Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act of 2023’ at the House of Representatives on February 14.

Two days after being sanctioned by the European Union, Chams Wings, took part in one of the world’s largest tourism fairs, FITUR, held in Madrid. FITUR organisers said that “any presence of Chams Wings at the event is not a result of a contractual relationship with FITUR."

The U.S.-based charity NuDay Syria has been fined USD 25,000 and sentenced to serve a five-year probation for breaching U.S. export control laws.

Binance Holding Limited has been fined USD 4.3 billion for breaching U.S. sanctions in jurisdictions, including Syria. This is one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history.

The U.S. Federal Reserve issued a USD 186 million fine against Deutsche Bank for failing to comply with previous orders concerning sanctioned countries, including Syria. 

OFAC has listed two Syrian foreign exchange companies as part of its Caesar Act sanctions mechanism.

A crypto trading company based in the United States agreed to pay USD 7.59 million to settle its violations of sanctions against Syria, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. 

The E.U. Council recently blacklisted 33 regime-affiliated individuals and entities, including regime financiers, narcotics dealers, and an NGO allegedly run by Asma Al-Assad.

Microsoft was fined millions of dollars for selling software and technology to sanctioned individuals and entities based in Syria and elsewhere.

An American bank was fined nearly USD 100 million for violating Syria, Iran, and Sudan sanctions regulations. 

The Syrian President has amended the investment law to attract capital into the real estate sector. The text comes after the earthquake and as relations with the Gulf warm.

The European Union (E.U.) General Court recently annulled Syrian businessman Nizar Assaad's sanctions listing on the grounds that the E.U. Council erred in its assessment of his role in the Syrian business landscape and ties to the ruling Assad family. 

The Syrian government has produced an analysis of the latest OFAC licence facilitating payments to Syria. It asks local institutions, particularly state entities, to capitalise on the licence to boost funding from abroad.

Two companies based in the United Arab Emirates have settled with the United States over alleged breaches of multiple sanctions programmes. The actions suggest a growing role of UAE-based companies in helping the Syrian regime and businessmen evade sanctions.

At the COP27 conference, the Syrian government predominantly blamed western sanctions, the opposition, and Israel for the challenges it faces in fighting climate change without taking responsibility for its role as a contributor to environmental harm.