US imposes sanctions on Syrian businessman with ties to Assad

The United States on Tuesday slapped sanctions on Syrian businessman Samer Foz and his family, who have close ties to Bashar Assad and who Washington said has made millions by developing properties on land seized from those who have fled the Syrian war.

The sanctions were being placed on Foz, his siblings Amer and Husen, and the family-owned Aman Holding, a company run by the Foz family from the coastal city of Latakia, the US Department of the Treasury said.

Foz-owned ASM International General Trading and its affiliates throughout the Middle East were also included in the sanctions. ASM is involved in grain and sugar trade, and oil field operations.

"Samer Foz, his relatives, and his business empire have leveraged the atrocities of the Syrian conflict into a profit-generating enterprise," Sigal Mandelker, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

The US Treasury said it was also sanctioning Synergy SAL and BS Company, which have imported tens of thousands of metric tons of Iranian oil into Syria.