Top Treasury Official in Charge of Sanctions Resigns

Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, is resigning to return to the private sector, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Oct. 2. In a statement. Mnuchin called Mandelker a “fierce advocate for effectively leveraging our powerful economic tools to make an impact for a safer world,” according to Reuters. Mnuchin said Mandelker made the decision to resign over the summer.

Mandelker was confirmed to the role in 2017 and helped implement U.S. sanctions against terrorists, terrorist financers and international money laundering schemes, most notably in Iran and Venezuela. She also supervised the Office of Foreign Assets Control along with several other U.S. sanctions agencies, Treasury’s website says, and defended accusations from private industry and trade experts that Treasury was using its sanctions tools too broadly and without a clear strategy (see 1908010020).

Mandelker's departure comes at a significant point in U.S. sanctions activity as the Trump administration looks to sustain its maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, continue cutting revenue streams to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro-led regime, and stop foreign countries and entities from evading U.S. sanctions (see 1909300054).