A senior official of the US Treasury Department will warn the UAE and Turkey about evading sanctions

WASHINGTON, 28 january (Reuters) – Next week Turkey and to the Middle East trip will do USA As Washington, the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official USAif they do business with entities subject to the restrictions of USA will warn countries and companies that may lose access to the market. It takes tough measures against attempts to evade sanctions imposed by Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Brian Nelson, Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, will visit Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey from January 29 to February 3. trip will and will meet with government officials as well as business and financial institutions to reiterate that Washington will continue to aggressively enforce. its sanctions, a Treasury spokesman told Reuters.

“Individuals and entities operating in sanctioned jurisdictions face the risk of potentially losing access to US markets for doing business with sanctioned entities or for failing to conduct due diligence,” the spokesperson said.

While in the region, Nelson will discuss the Treasury’s efforts to evade sanctions and export controls imposed by Russia over its brutal war against Ukraine, Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region, illicit financial risks undermining economic growth and foreign investment.

This tripis the latest trip by a senior Treasury official to Turkey to discuss sanctions after a series of warnings from Treasury and Commerce Department officials last year as Washington ramps up pressure on Ankara to enforce U.S. sanctions against Russia.

TENSE RELATIONSHIPS

Nelson’s visit two NATO At a time when its ally disagreed on a number of issues, the United States and Turkey It coincides with the period of tense relations between

Recently, Turkey, Sweden and Finland NATOrefusal to give the green light to requests to Europe is disappointed that his country will join the alliance or not.

Nelson will visit Turkey’s capital Ankara and financial center Istanbul on February 2-3. It will alert businesses and banks that they should avoid transactions involving potential dual purpose technology transfers, which ultimately Russia can be used by the army.

Dual use items are both commercial and military may have applications.

Washington and its allies killed and wounded thousands, Ukraine imposed sanctions against Moscow several times after the invasion, which led to the destruction of their cities.

Turkey He condemned Russia’s invasion and sent armed drones to Ukraine. At the same time, it opposes Western sanctions against Russia and has close ties with both Moscow and its Black Sea neighbors, Kiev.

Russia and strengthened trade and tourism. Some Turkish firms are withdrawing from Western partners due to sanctions Russia have bought or are trying to buy assets, and some keep large assets in the country.

However, Ankara has promised that international sanctions will not bypass Turkey.

Washington is also concerned about the evasion of US sanctions against Iran.

Last month, a well-known Turk in the United States businessman Sitki imposed sanctions against Ayan and his network of companies Iran Accused of mediating oil sales and money laundering on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

While in the United Arab Emirates, Nelson will note the country’s “weak enforcement of sanctions,” a spokesman said.

Washington has imposed a series of sanctions on United Arab Emirates-based companies for evading Iran-related sanctions and on Thursday designated a UAE-based aviation firm for supporting Russian mercenary Wagner Group fighting in Ukraine.

(This story has been corrected to change the title to UAE, Turkey, not Middle East; adds Turkey in paragraph 1)

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Don Durfee and Leslie Adler

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2023-01-28 12:38:48
Source – reuters

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