America sanctions UAE firm for supplying Syrian regime with fuel

The US Treasury sanctioned on Wednesday a UAE firm for supplying the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad with oil products including aircraft fuel to be used in military operations to suppress the Syrian Revolution, Almesryoon news agency has reported.

In a statement, the treasury said that Pangates International Corp based in Sharjah, has supplied petroleum products to Syria including aviation fuel from 2012 until April this year and that that they were likely used for military purposes.

The US decision strengthens doubts about the role played by the UAE in supporting the Assad regime. The Gulf state has been hosting some of the Syrian dictator’s family members including his mother, Anisa Makhlouf, who died last month, and his sister Bushra, who left Syria after the death of her husband, Asif Shawkat, in an explosion last year.

The American government also sanctioned two Syrian-based companies, Expert Partners and Megatrade, for helping Syria to purchase or develop ballistic missiles and chemical or biological weapons.

Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a statement, “The Syrian regime’s violence against its own people is disgusting, and we intend to apply financial and economic sanctions against those who support that regime.”

The sanctions place a ban on dealing with the listed companies in the United States and freeze their financial assets in the country.