Dem pushes Treasury for info on Syria sanctions

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee is asking the Treasury Department for details of its sanctions on Syria and shell companies that could do business with Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in a Monday letter to identify how many Syrian individuals and businesses have been sanctioned by the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since the country’s civil war began in 2011.

{mosads}Wyden also asked Lew how the department is cracking down on foreign banks and firms that finance or do business with the Assad regime.

He said he wanted “to ensure that our sanctions are being implemented as effectively as possible.”

“Like many in this country, I am deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in Syria. The horrific violence continues to undermine regional security and stability. I am requesting more information about the Syria sanctions regime to better understand the breadth and effectiveness of this program,” Wyden wrote. 

Wyden in particular cited the Obama administration’s decision to end talks with Russia, one of Assad’s closest allies, over Syria.

The senator also asked for a list of licenses granted to Americans seeking to do business with sanctioned Syrian nationals and businesses since 2011, and from 2004, when Treasury placed its first sanctions on Syria.

More generally, Wyden also asked Lew for specifics on how Treasury defines control and ownership of shell businesses connected to sanctioned parties. He’s asked the Internal Revenue Service similar questions related to the “Panama papers” from law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leaked documents detailed how the firm helped set-up shell companies for clients.