The U.S. Adds Several Syrian Officials and a Russian Bank to Its Sanctions List

On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department added several senior officials from the Syrian government, including the ministers of oil and economy, as well as managers from a Russian bank to its sanctions list. These sanctions also include Cham Wings Airlines in Syria, which is accused of transporting foreign fighters into the country to participate in the civil war. The U.S. has also included two companies reportedly owned by Rami Makhlouf, a figure associated with the Assad regime, which is involved in oil transfers from areas controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS). In a statement regarding these sanctions, Adam Zubin, the acting head of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Treasury, emphasized that the daily attacks by Bashar al-Assad's government on civilian centers are reprehensible, and the Syrian government and perpetrators of these actions must be isolated and held accountable for these atrocities. According to a report by AFP, the U.S. Treasury has added six Syrian cabinet officials to its sanctions list, including Mamoun Hamdan, the Minister of Economy, Ali Ghanem, the Minister of Oil, and Dureid Durgham, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria. The list also includes the names of nine board members from the Russian bank Tempbank, which has been accused of providing financial services to Bashar al-Assad's government. Tempbank had previously been on the U.S. sanctions list, and it was announced in April this year that it plans to open a branch on Qeshm Island in Iran. The U.S. Treasury had previously included several individuals and entities linked to the Syrian crisis in its sanctions list, adding seven legal entities and eight individuals from Syria on August 23. Additionally, in May of this year, the U.S. Treasury increased sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's government, targeting four senior Syrian officials, an airline for transporting weapons for the government, and a private television network for providing services to the Syrian government. At that time, it was announced that the ministers of defense, health, industry, and justice of Syria were included in the U.S. sanctions list. The European Union also intensified its sanctions against the Syrian government in October this year, emphasizing that it would consider all options and deterrent actions if violence in Syria does not cease. So far, the EU has sanctioned 208 Syrian government officials and 69 companies from the country.