Bessent says Iran's economy in 'free-fall' after sanctions campaign
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins 'Mornings with Maria' to discuss the Trump administration's crackdown on government fraud, mounting economic pressure on Iran, the AI race with China and the outlook for the U.S. economy.
The Treasury Department slashed another 84 people and companies from its sanctions lists on Monday as part of an effort to streamline sanctions programs and make it easier for banks to pursue what it deems the most serious terrorist financing schemes.
Secretary Scott Bessent launched a review in May of its sanctions programs and lists to remove outdated entries and ease compliance burdens on financial institutions.
He later announced that 76 people and firms had been removed from the 17,000-plus sanctions lists.
A Treasury official said the goal is "to ensure Treasury sanctions remain efficient, sharp, and focused, and to remove bloat left over from previous administrations," adding that more than 3,000 names were designated in 2024, compared to only 880 in 2017.
BESSENT SAYS TREASURY TRACKED DOWN AYATOLLAH'S 'MONEY MAN,'PLANS TO EXPOSE LINKED PROPERTIES
The Treasury Department removed another 84 people and companies from its sanctions lists. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Sanctions are not intended to be a forever tool," the official said.
Bessent has repeatedly emphasized the Trump administration's willingness to impose sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies — Rosneft and Lukoil. The Biden administration had been hesitant to take such action over concerns of a further uptick in oil prices after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The second round of removals from the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List on Monday includes 36 people who have died and associated listings, 33 Iraq-related entities first designated in 1991 or 1992, seven defunct or outdated narcotics listings related to Colombia and eight disrupted narcotics kingpins.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also updated listings for 22 people and entities to add or clarify missing key identifiers.
Secretary Scott Bessent launched a review in May of its sanctions programs and lists to remove outdated entries and ease compliance burdens on financial institutions. (Krisanne Johnson/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Each removal was made after a review by other federal agencies to ensure that it would not hurt the administration's foreign policy or national security interests, and names could be reinstated as needed, the Treasury said.
The review so far has centered on older sanctions entries, which can sometimes leave out identifying information that is now routine for new sanctions, including place and date of birth, unique identification numbers, nationality or gender.
Adding new data should make compliance screening easier for financial institutions, the Treasury said.
OFAC has also identified a small number of duplicate entries on its sanctions lists, the department said, adding that 18 of these sets were resolved with Monday's removals.
TREASURY INTERCEPTS NEARLY $99M IN FEDERAL PAYMENTS TO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS UNDER TRUMP FRAUD ORDER
The Treasury said each removal was made after a review by other federal agencies to ensure that it would not hurt the administration's foreign policy or national security interests. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"To decrease the compliance burden on financial institutions and improve national security outcomes, Treasury is reviewing outdated or hard-to-screen targets," the Treasury said in an internal document, according to Reuters.
It added that the impact of sanctions should be "measured in terms of effect, impact, and national security benefit, not based on the number of names we put on a list."
Last month, the Treasury launched a new online portal allowing sanctioned people or companies to request their removal from the list.
Reuters contributed to this report.
