The United States has added four individuals and six entities to a sanctions list for supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including a Russian bank and a former official.
The U.S. Treasury Department said on November 25 that the sanctions target the Russian Financial Alliance Bank for its role in financial transactions with the Syrian government.
It also sanctioned two individuals linked to the bank -- Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is currently the chairman of the World Chess Federation and the former President of the Russian region of Kalmykia, and Mudalal Khuri, one of the bank's leaders.
The sanctions also target a Syrian businessman, George Haswani, who the department said "serves as a middleman for oil purchases by the Syrian regime" from the Islamic State militant group.
Others targeted by the fresh round of sanctions included other entities owned or controlled by Khuri, the department said.
