US sanctions two Syrian companies

The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it has added two financial institutions and three individuals associated with them to its sanctions list, accused of secretly providing the Syrian regime with access to the international financial system in violation of sanctions. “Today, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two Syrian money services businesses that covertly assist the Syrian regime and the Bashar al-Assad administration, and their Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force allies, in gaining access to the international financial system in violation of international sanctions,” the Treasury Department said in a written statement. The statement noted that the companies listed by OFAC were Al Fadel Exchange and Al Adham Exchange, and that the Syrian regime used Al Fadel Exchange to transfer money from and to countries in the region. The statement, which included accusations that Al Adham Exchange has transferred millions of dollars to accounts in the Central Bank of Syria since 2021, stated that both companies were subject to sanctions under the Presidential Decree titled "Blocking Assets of the Syrian Government and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Syria" and the Caesar Civilian Protection Law of 2019 (Caesar Law). The statement also noted that the owners of El Fadel Exchange, Fadel Maruf Balvi, Muti Maruf Balvi and Muhammad Maruf Balvi, were added to the sanctions list.