America Sanctions the Syrian Regime for Funding the Islamic State—Again

[TomSea]

America Sanctions the Syrian Regime for Funding the Islamic State—Again
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 7 September 2018

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned four individuals and five entities connected to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Asad on 6 September 2018. The most interesting was Muhammad al-Katerji, who has been involved in trade with the Islamic State (IS). A relative of his, Hussam al-Katerji, has previously been revealed as funding the jihadists on behalf of the regime, and the U.S. has previously sanctioned another Kremlin-linked Asad regime oligarch, George Haswani, for financing IS. “The United States will continue to target those who facilitate transactions with the murderous Asad regime and support ISIS”, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

REGIME TRADE WITH ISLAMIC STATE

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Muhammad al-Katerji (b. 1976), transliterated Muhammad al-Qatirji in the designation, and his Qatirji Company because he “facilitates fuel trade between the regime and ISIS, including providing oil products to ISIS-controlled territory. … [ I]n a 2016 trade deal between the Government of Syria and ISIS, the Qatirji Company was identified as the exclusive agent for providing supplies to ISIS-controlled areas, including oil and other commodities.” Working alongside the Syrian Ministry of Oil, “Qatirji … has conducted business with ISIS in the petroleum sector, working directly with ISIS representatives to provide oil products for ISIS.

Continued: https://kyleorton1991.wordpress.com/2018/09/07/america-sanctions-the-syrian-regime-for-funding-the-islamic-state-again/