Treasury's Second Sanctions Cleanup Removes 84 People and Entities, Updates 22 Listings
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 27 announced the second major action in its sanctions modernization initiative, removing 84 individuals and entities from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), improving identifying information for 22 list entries to facilitate compliance, and resolving 18 sets of duplicate entries.
Those removed include individuals and entities no longer considered U.S. national security or foreign policy priorities, including some deceased individuals, defunct entities, and targets sanctioned more than 20 years ago, some of whom lacked sufficient information for effective compliance screening. As with any removal, OFAC conducted an interagency review to ensure the removals would not harm U.S. foreign policy or national security interests.
Treasury said the modernization effort, announced by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in May, aims to ensure U.S. sanctions remain targeted, effective, and aligned with U.S. economic, foreign policy, and national security priorities, and that the administration measures sanctions success by effect, impact, and benefit rather than by the number of names on a list. OFAC's review has prioritized older entries, which sometimes lack identifying information now routine for new designations.
Where removal was not appropriate, OFAC updated entries by adding identifiers such as place and date of birth, unique identification numbers, nationality, or gender, making compliance screening less burdensome for financial institutions. Treasury also identified a small number of duplicate entries in which the same person or property had been listed more than once; this action resolved 18 such sets.
Treasury also highlighted the OFAC Reconsideration Portal launched on June 29, which lets listed persons and property submit delisting petitions and request certain information underlying their determinations. The portal specifies the key biographic and baseline information needed to adjudicate petitions efficiently, and explains how petitioners can show an insufficient basis for designation or a change in circumstances. Treasury said the power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from its ability to designate, but also from its willingness to remove listings when appropriate and consistent with the law.
(Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：财政部大楼（华盛顿），联邦机构固定图库照片。照片：公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, from the federal fixed photo library. Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
