News
Potential Sanctions Changes for Sudan, Myanmar Would Unfold Slowly
By Colby Adams
printAny changes to U.S. economic sanctions policies on Sudan and Myanmar will be slow moving, if they occur at all, despite recent diplomatic overtures and speculation, say analysts. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the White House was willing to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism should the country recognize a scheduled January vote potentially allowing South Sudan to secede. The vote is mandated by a 2005 peace accord that ended a civil war that killed two million people. In the same speech before the United Nations Security Council, Clinton said that...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Sources in Sudan and the United States believe American officials may roll back sanctions against the North African country, which has been subject to a comprehensive U.S. trade embargo for nearly 20 years.
For nearly 20 years, U.S. sanctions have stymied Sudan's economic growth while doing little to stop savvy bankers from doing business in the country, according to Bader Eldin Mahmmoud Abbas Mukhtar, the country's minister of finance and national economy.
A law enforcement and regulatory probe into potential sanctions violations by BNP Paribas centers on transactions tied to Sudan, according to an individual with direct knowledge of the matter.
A U.S. Treasury Department decision to effectively lift sanctions on four of Myanmar's largest banks has done little to entice American financial institutions to do business in the country, say industry representatives.
High-profile sanctions cases are spurring large banks and third-party software vendors to improve how they identify when counterparts and clients secretly act on behalf of blacklisted entities, say compliance experts.
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a general license Friday allowing American banks to transact with four financial institutions in Myanmar included on its Specially Designated Nationals List.
Eager to lure new foreign investments, the world's newest nation still faces an uphill battle against the economic sanctions it technically freed itself from in July, say analysts.
U.S. lawmakers, responding to a violent crackdown on protesters in August, are seeking to stop Myanmar's military leadership from importing rubies into the U.S. and laundering the proceeds through U.S. companies with business interests in Myanmar.