U.S. Treasury Undersecretary to Discuss in Turkey and UAE Countering the Circumvention of Sanctions Against Russia

Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury’s deputy chief of counterterrorism and financial intelligence, will visit Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey from January 29 to February 3. During the meetings in these countries, the official will confirm that the U.S. will continue to actively implement sanctions related to Russia. This was reported to Reuters by a ministry spokesman. According to him, Mr. Nelson will warn the authorities and businesses of these countries that they may lose access to U.S. markets if they violate them.

“Individuals and institutions operating in sanctioning jurisdictions potentially risk losing access to U.S. markets because of doing business with sanctioned individuals or lack of due diligence,” the Treasury spokesman said.

Brian Nelson will visit Turkey’s capital Ankara as well as its financial center, Istanbul, on Feb. 2-3. He will warn against transactions involving the potential transfer of dual-use technology that could eventually be used by the Russian military, the Treasury spokesman said.

In Turkey, as well as the UAE, the deputy minister will state the possibility of losing access to G7 markets (Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the United States) due to doing business with sanctioned entities, the ministry said.

In the UAE, Brian Nelson criticizes “improper enforcement of sanctions,” according to a ministry spokesman. Washington previously imposed sanctions on a UAE-based aviation firm for ties to the Wagner PMC. In Oman, Mr. Nelson will discuss cooperation in combating illicit financing, including the financing of terrorism.