InfoBytes Blog
OFAC sanctions terror operatives and charcoal smugglers in Somalia
On May 24, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13536 and E.O. 13244, against 26 individuals and entities connected with terrorist group al-Shabaab. According to OFAC, the 15 financial facilitators and operatives, four charcoal smugglers, and seven of their associated companies are designated for financial facilitation, business activities, collection of funds on behalf of the terrorist group, proliferation of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and illegal charcoal smuggling from Somalia, all of which have exacerbated local conflicts and suffering. The 15 designated individuals have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars through illegal fee collections from local Somalis, to support al-Shabaab operations and weapons procurement in southern Somalia. Regarding the four charcoal smugglers, after 2012, Somali charcoal exports and imports were banned pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2036 due to its role in fueling instability in Somalia and funding criminal and terrorist organizations.
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. OFAC further mentioned, “any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for any of the individuals or entities designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.” Lastly, OFAC stressed that engaging in certain transactions with several the individuals and entities designated entails “risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended. Pursuant to this authority, OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant transaction on behalf of a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”