As previously reported on this blog, Syriatel, Syria’s largest provider of mobile phone service, was recently put on the Specially Designated Nationals (“SDN”) List by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). As a result, U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing business with Syriatel. Last Thursday, Syriatel sent a fax to the Associated Press claiming that it was hiring lawyers in the United States to contest this designation.

The basis for this objection, as stated in that fax, is that Syriatel is owned by more than 7,500 shareholder and not only by Rami Makhluf whose ownership of Syriatel served as the basis for the designation. The company is going to need a stronger argument than that because OFAC seemed to be quite aware, judging by its press release announcing the designation, that Makhluf was not the only owner of Syriatel but simply the majority owner.

Syriatel’s efforts to contest the designation may face a larger barrier. A recent guidance document from OFAC suggests that OFAC is going to limit the fees paid to lawyers representing SDNs to $125 per hour, with a cap of $7,000 per lawyer for up to two lawyers. We’ll be interested to see who agrees to represent Syriatel under these conditions.

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