On 21 February 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued OFAC Compliance Communique: Guidance on Authorized Transactions Related to Earthquake Relief Efforts in Syria. The Guidance responds to specific questions OFAC received related to earthquake relief efforts in Syria and explains how to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people in compliance with US sanctions.
On May 12, 2022, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Syria General License No. 22 (“GL 22“), authorizing certain activities in particular sectors of the Syrian economy that are otherwise prohibited under the Syrian Sanctions Regulations in specified regions of Syria not controlled by the Assad regime. According to the US Statement Department’s press release, GL 22 was issued in support of the Biden Administration’s strategy to defeat ISIS by promoting economic stabilization in areas previously controlled by ISIS.
On November 26, 2021, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a final rule amending the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule expands the existing general license at § 542.516 to authorize nongovernmental organizations to engage in certain assistance-related investment activities in support of not-for-profit activities in Syria.