EU puts Syrian central bank governor under sanctions
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BRUSSELS -- The European Union extended its sanctions on Syria on Monday, banning the country's central bank chief and its finance minister from travelling in Europe and freezing their assets in a further step to isolate President Bashar al-Assad.
The decision to target Central Bank Governor Duraid Durgham and Finance Minister Maamoun Hamdan, along with 16 other government ministers, made good on the EU's threat last month to increase sanctions on Syria over the bombing of Aleppo.
Diplomats said targeting the country's finance chiefs was aimed at pressuring Assad and limiting the central bank's ability to obtain financing. The bloc already has a ban on dealings with the central bank, as well as an oil embargo and arms embargo.
The European Union singled out as central bank governor Durgham as "responsible for providing economic and financial support to the Syrian regime."
