Treasury to Increase Counter-Narcotics Sanctions, Official Says
The Treasury Department is committed to “increasing the number” of counter-narcotics sanctions over the next few years, said Brian Nelson, the agency’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, speaking during a July 12 hearing in front of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Nelson said Treasury has specifically been prioritizing sanctions work against fentanyl and other synthetic opioid networks and dedicating “significant investigative resources to that particular problem set.”
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said the U.S. needs to better use its sanctions authorities to target transnational criminal drug organizations. During the hearing, he urged Nelson and Treasury to meet an objective outlined in the 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, which calls for a 365% increase in asset freezes by 2025.
While Treasury is “focused” on increasing the number of sanctions, Nelson said the agency is also focused on ensuring they’re effective. “We're really focused on targeting high-impact targets in order to make a real strategic impact,” Nelson said.