Treasury starts sanctions overhaul, removes outdated SDN entries

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday removed sanctions on 83 targets from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, marking the start of what Treasury called a broader sanctions modernization initiative. Treasury said the deletions cover outdated entries and followed an interagency vetting process to ensure the action would not undermine U.S. foreign policy or national security interests.

Treasury said the removals include deceased individuals, scrapped or decommissioned vessels, parties tied to illicit financial networks that no longer exist, and people designated more than 10 years ago who lack sufficient identifiers for continued screening and do not appear to pose an ongoing threat.

The department said the review is intended to keep sanctions aligned with U.S. economic, foreign policy and national security priorities, while sharpening focus on higher-risk and more complex threats. Treasury also said businesses have faced heavy compliance costs from screening low-risk matches and false positives, and that it is exploring ways to ease that burden while improving scrutiny of sanctions evasion.

Treasury also said it is reviewing sanctions programs that have not produced measurable outcomes or no longer support U.S. national security priorities. It added that delisting, when appropriate and lawful, is part of maintaining the credibility of the sanctions system and reflects the principle that sanctions are designed to change behavior rather than serve as permanent punishment.