The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday it taking 76 persons, vessels and entities off its sanctions blacklist that it said were outdated, a move it said would help crack down on sanctions evasion on complex and high-risk targets.

The department said it had heard from businesses that complained about being forced to spend significant resources to screen targets that were low-risk. In some cases the targets such as financial networks no longer exist, or individuals who had been sanctioned had died.

“Treasury is exploring ways to relieve that burden while helping to prioritize more impactful activities to implement sanctions, including scrutinizing for sanctions evasion,” it said in a release about taking entities off the Specially Designated Nationals list.

The use of sanctions on countries like Venezuela, Iran, Syria and Russia has grown in recent years. Annual new listings increased from 880 in 2017 to more than 3,000 in 2024, Treasury said.

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(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)