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OFAC Sanctions Syrian Banks, Phone Operator Following Political Crackdowns
By Brian Monroe and Colby Adams
printAmerican banks must block any transaction tied to Syria's largest bank and report the freeze to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, under sanctions issued Wednesday. The agency, known as OFAC, added the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS) and, its subsidiary Lebanese Commercial Bank, to its list of Specially Designated Nationals. The department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) blacklisted Commercial Bank in 2006 under a U.S. Patriot Act designation that prohibited financial institutions from maintaining correspondent relationships with the bank. OFAC also designated Syriatel, the country's largest telecommunications company, along with the two financial institutions. U.S. officials...
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