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The Senate's Foreign Relations Committee passed legislation Tuesday that would allow the White House to impose sanctions on entities that provide petroleum products or military assistance to Syria's government.
The promised release of over 2 million Syrian government emails and diplomatic communiqués will create a major challenge for banks and securities firms, say compliance professionals.
U.S. financial institutions must freeze any account and block any payment linked to the Syria Islamic International Bank (SIIB), the U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department last year froze $77 million in assets tied to the Syrian government under sanctions against state sponsors of terrorism, according to a report published Wednesday.
As international pressure against Syria's crackdown on protesters mounts, efforts by financial institutions to identify transactions related to Syrian arms deals will likely prove fruitless, say analysts.
American 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.
Caught between pressure from U.S. lawmakers to crack down harder on Iran and Syria and the desire to act in concert with America's allies, the White House is walking a fine line in its use of economic sanctions.
Large banks are bracing for possible orders from the Obama administration to freeze assets of individuals in the Syrian government that could come as early as this week, say compliance professionals.
