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OFAC FAQ (Current) # 227 - Syria General License No. 6

Date issued: Jan. 06 2025

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227. May I continue to send money to family or friends in Syria?
Yes. Pursuant to 31 CFR § 542.512, U.S. persons may continue to send noncommercial, personal remittances to friends or family in Syria, provided the transfer is not by, to, or through the Government of Syria or any other person whose property and interests in property are blocked. Syria General License (GL) 24 complements this provision by authorizing transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to processing the transfer of noncommercial, personal remittances to Syria, including through the Central Bank of Syria, provided that the recipient is not blocked.

U.S. depository institutions, U.S. registered brokers or dealers in securities, and U.S. registered money transmitters can process such transactions and may rely on the statements of their customers that such transactions are authorized unless they know or have reason to know a transaction is not authorized.

(Previously updated April 21, 2015. Revised January 06, 2025).

Date Released
April 21, 2015

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227. May I continue to send money to family or friends in Syria?
Yes. OFAC General License No. 6 authorizes U.S. depository institutions, including banks, and U.S.-registered money transmitters, to process non-commercial, personal remittances to or from Syria, or for or on behalf of an individual ordinarily resident in Syria, provided the funds transfer is not by, to, or through the Government of Syria or any other person designated or otherwise blocked by OFAC. Such transactions do not require further authorization from OFAC.`e and Evaluation Division via the OFAC hotline at (800) 540-6322 or (202) 622-2490.
External link location:
https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/227

TURBOFAC Commentary (204 words)

Notes:

1) GL 6 has been superseded and implemented in the SySR. See 542.512 "Noncommercial, personal remittances authorized."

2) FAQ amended on 1-6-25 to account for the issuance of Syria General License 24. Notably, the amended FAQ provides that safe harbor language “(may rely on the statements of their customers)” and specifies that the remittance portion of the GL operates such that it authorizes “transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to processing the transfer of noncommercial, personal remittances to Syria, including through the Central Bank of Syria, provided that the recipient is not blocked.” This “recipient is not blocked” language is key to the interpretation of the “financial transactions” carveout of the GL, which provides that the GL does not authorize “Financial transfers to any person blocked pursuant to the GTSR…or SySR” (which would include the Central Bank of Syria). As noted in the comments to Syria GL 24, it is unclear whether “recipient” in “provided that the recipient is not blocked” is a reference to ultimate beneficiaries, or ultimate beneficiaries plus beneficiary banks. The GL and FAQ are certainly open to an interpretation that payments to non-blocked “recipients” with accounts at blocked banks are covered by the GL."