Treasury says it needs to modernize its economic sanctions

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department says that the economic and financial sanctions the United States has employed over the past two decades to battle global terrorism, nuclear proliferation, drug cartels and other threats need to adapt to a rapidly changing financial world.

The department issued a report Monday that said it needs to modernize the tech it uses and upgrade its workforce to deal with new tools and techniques, such as digital currencies.

“Treasury’s sanctions review has shown that this powerful instrument continues to deliver results but also faces, new challenges,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in releasing the report.

The report found that since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Treasury’s use of sanctions has increased by 933 percent, from 912 sanctions designations in 2001 to 9,421 this year.

The sanctions program is administered by Treasury in conjunction with recommendations from the White House and the State Department. The report said it was successful in preventing Iran from using the international financial system and commercial markets to generate revenue from oil sales to support its nuclear program, pushing the country to the negotiating table in 2015.

The report said sanctions need to keep up with new and emerging techniques being employed by cybercriminals.