EU foreign ministers on Tuesday agreed on a 15th round of sanctions against Syria, which include an assets freeze on the General Organisation of Tobacco.

The government-owned agency controls the whole tobacco sector in Syria, from the cultivation to the production and marketing of toabcco. According to the EU‘s official journal, it generates funds for the regime through the licensing and taxing of foreign tobacco brands, among other things.
The EU accused the General Organisation of Tobacco as well as the Altoun Group, an oil exporter, of providing financial support to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The EU further added three people to the list of those facing an EU travel ban and assets freeze, including Syrian Central Bank Governor Adib Mayaleh, the head of Altoun and his assistant. (pi)