U.S. TREASURY TARGETS FOUR ALLEGED HIZBALLAH SUPPORTERS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
Action Targets Hizballah’s Global Support Network Responsible for Fundraising and Recruiting

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Treasury today designated four Lebanese supporters of Hizballah who are responsible for aiding the organization’s attempts to extend its influence throughout West Africa. Ali Ibrahim al-Watfa, Abbas Loutfe Fawaz, Ali Ahmad Chehade, and Hicham Nmer Khanafer, who are responsible for Hizballah’s activities in Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Gambia respectively, have been organized fundraising efforts, recruited members, and in some cases styled themselves as ambassadors of Hizballah’s Foreign Relations Department. Today’s designations, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters, further expose the alarming reach of Hizballah’s activities and its determination to create a worldwide funding and recruitment network to support its violence and criminal enterprises around the world. Even as Hizballah claims to be a resistance organization, its expansive global network is sending money and operatives to carry out terrorist attacks around the world and fighters to the front lines of the Syrian civil war.

"As Hizballah continues to use its global network of operatives and supporters to extend its malign influence beyond the borders of Lebanon, we will continue to use all tools at our disposal to take action to disrupt these efforts," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. "These actions are increasingly important as the funding from Hizballah’s traditional patron, Iran, is squeezed by international sanctions."

In addition to targeting Hizballah’s terrorist operations, the Treasury Department has exposed Hizballah’s links to vast narcotics trafficking and money laundering operations by both designating the network of narcotics kingpin Ayman Joumaa as well as employing Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act against Lebanese exchange houses transferring illicit profits into the international financial system. Treasury has also targeted Hizballah support networks run by Ali Mohamad Saleh in South America. These combined actions have exposed and disrupted Hizballah’s attempts to expand its influence beyond the borders of Lebanon. Nonetheless, Hizballah has shown that it is determined to adapt and use its international networks to support terrorist attacks against civilians around the world.

U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the individuals designated today, and any assets of those designees subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.

Ali Ibrahim al-Watfa

Ali Ibrahim al-Watfa was formally appointed as the permanent Hizballah liaison to Sierra Leone by the Hizballah Foreign Relations Department, and he is a senior member of, and has assisted in leading, a Hizballah cell in Freetown, Sierra Leone, that is focused on fundraising for the group. Al-Watfa coordinated the transfer of funds from Sierra Leone to Hizballah in Lebanon through the Hizballah Foreign Relations Department.

Abbas Loutfe Fawaz

Abbas Loutfe Fawaz is a Hizballah Foreign Relations Department official who serves as Hizballah’s leader in Senegal, playing a key role in Hizballah’s activities and recruiting members for Hizballah. Following the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Fawaz established a group of Hizballah followers and, taking advantage of increased Lebanese nationalism generated by the conflict, became more active in promoting Hizballah and fundraising for the group. Fawaz used supermarkets, which he owned and operated, in Dakar, Senegal, to raise funds for Hizballah and attract supporters. Fawaz hosted a visit to Dakar, Senegal, of Hizballah members from Lebanon to promote Hizballah's interests, garner support among the Lebanese expatriates, and solicit financial donations.

Fawaz traveled to Lebanon to meet with Hizballah officials to discuss security in relation to the potential indictment of Hizballah members by the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Prior to his travel to Lebanon, Fawaz identified tens of Lebanese nationals residing in Senegal for whom he would arrange travel to Lebanon if Hizballah security officials deemed them to be of use. Fawaz also led a group of Hizballah members and supporters in secret meetings in order to devise ways to increase Hizballah's fundraising efforts and to promote Hizballah's popularity among Lebanese nationals in Dakar. Fawaz was deeply involved in Hizballah's efforts to influence the selection of a director of an influential Islamic institute in Dakar, and was also a key figure in arranging travel for a high-level Hizballah delegation from Lebanon.

Ali Ahmad Chehade

Ali Chehade is the Hizballah Foreign Relations Department official for Cote d’Ivoire, and in this capacity attempted to coordinate travel for Hizballah members from Senegal to Cote d’Ivoire. Chehade, who was sent to Cote d'Ivoire from Lebanon by senior Hizballah leadership, also is a Hizballah recruiter assisting Specially Designated Global Terrorist Abd Al Munim Qubaysi.

Hicham Nmer Khanafer

Hicham Khanafer has been an active and influential Hizballah member in The Gambia, where he has been involved in recruiting and fundraising for Hizballah. He hosted weekly meetings for local Hizballah members and supporters at his home, and he held weekly Hizballah fundraising and recruiting drives at a local mosque.

U.S. TREASURY TARGETS IRANIAN PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY FOR SANCTIONS

FROM:  U.S. TREASURY

Actions Target the Iranian Petrochemical Industry as well as the Iranian Regime’s Attempts to Evade Sanctions and Support Terrorism

WASHINGTON –

As part of its ongoing efforts to intensify sanctions pressure on Iran, today the Department of the Treasury took a series of related actions to disrupt efforts to evade sanctions on the Iranian regime.

The Treasury Department today sanctioned a company that has aided Iran’s efforts to evade sanctions by attempting to conceal oil transactions with the Government of Iran and an aircraft procurement network supporting Iran’s airlines that previously have been sanctioned for involvement in Iran’s support for terrorism around the world. These actions, which were taken under a number of different authorities, apply sanctions to companies operating in several countries that are aiding Iran’s support for terrorism and the violence being perpetrated by the Assad regime in Syria, as well as schemes that seek to bolster Iran’s dwindling oil sales by deceptively introducing its crude onto the international market.

Additionally, the Treasury Department, acting in concert with the Department of State, took action today to target Iran’s petrochemical industry. As Iran’s oil revenues continue to fall due to international sanctions, the Iranian government has increasingly turned to other industries to make up for lost profits. One of these sectors is the petrochemical industry, which is now the second largest source of revenue for the Iranian Government. The Administration is taking action today to target this revenue stream by both designating companies involved in transactions with the sector and identifying several petrochemical companies as subject to sanctions because they are controlled by the Iranian government.

"We are committed to intensifying the pressure against Iran, not only by adopting new sanctions, but also by actively enforcing our sanctions and preventing sanctions evasion. Today’s actions take aim at revenues from Iran’s petrochemical sector, as well as deceptive schemes Iran has employed in an effort to evade sanctions on its oil sales and its airlines," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. "We will continue to work with our partners around the world to ensure that the sanctions pressure on Iran builds so long as Iran continues to defy its obligation to comply with its international obligations."

Targeting Sanctions Evaders

Treasury imposed sanctions on Cyprus and Ukraine-based Ferland Company Limited (Ferland) because it has facilitated deceptive transactions for or on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), which was identified by Treasury as a Government of Iran entity in July 2012. This Treasury action is the first use of sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13608, which targets Foreign Sanctions Evaders, including those that facilitate deceptive transactions for or on behalf of persons sanctioned in connection with Iran or Syria. As a result of Treasury’s action, transactions with Ferland that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are generally prohibited, including transactions by U.S. persons, wherever located.

In March 2013, Ferland and NITC cooperated in a scheme to sell Iranian crude oil deceptively in order to help Iran evade international sanctions which also involved a vessel owned by Dimitris Cambis. The scheme involved ship-to-ship transfers of oil between three oil tankers: Blackstone, a NITC vessel, Zap, a vessel controlled by Dimitris Cambis, and Aldawha, which was chartered by Ferland. Treasury identified Cambis and his business network, which includes the Zap and other vessels, as working on behalf of Iran in March 2013. For details on that action click here. The Blackstone conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil with the Zap on March 12. The Zap then conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil, between March 15 and 17, with the Aldawha off Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). The details of the ship-to-ship operations were arranged by a NITC manager and a representative of Ferland. Ferland later furnished a falsified certificate of origin as part of its cargo documentation, claiming that the crude oil loaded onto the Aldawha was a "product of Iraq."

The Department of State is taking concurrent action today by imposing sanctions on Ferland under the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), as amended by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (TRA). The ISA sanctions selected by the State Department for Ferland prohibit visas for corporate officers, loans from U.S. financial institutions, financial transactions subject to U.S. jurisdiction, transactions with respect to property and interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction, and foreign exchange transactions subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

Petrochemical Companies

The Treasury Department is also identifying eight Iranian petrochemical companies that are owned or controlled by the Government of Iran, including Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Company, Mobin Petrochemical Company, Nouri Petrochemical Company, Pars Petrochemical Company, Shahid Tondgooyan Petrochemical Company, Shazand Petrochemical Company, and Tabriz Petrochemical Company. These identifications made pursuant to E.O. 13599, which targets the government of Iran.

The Department of State also sanctioned two companies for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase or acquisition of petrochemical products from Iran.

Aircraft Procurement and Support Network
Today, the Department of the Treasury also designated key companies and individuals located in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and the U.A.E. that are leasing and selling aircraft to Mahan Air and Iran Air as they attempt to circumvent sanctions and support Iran’s worldwide illicit activities. Mahan Air was designated in October, 2011 pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing financial, material and technological support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and has transported personnel, weapons and goods on behalf of Lebanese Hizballah. Iran Air was designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 in June 2011 for providing support and services to Iran’s IRGC, Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces (MODAFL), and Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO).

Kyrgyzstan-based Kyrgyz Trans Avia (KTA), Ukraine-based Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines (Um Air) and Bukovyna Airlines and UAE-based Sirjanco Trading L.L.C. have served as intermediaries for the acquisition of aircraft by Mahan Air and Iran Air as Iran continues to move illicit cargo to Syria for the Assad regime’s violent crackdown against its own citizens. Some of the aircraft supplied by this network are used, interchangeably, to move suspected illicit cargo to the Syrian regime and provide civilian passenger flights to Europe and Asia. As noted previously by the Treasury Department, the IRGC-QF and Hizballah are both heavily involved in these types of cargo shipments to Syria. Also designated today are officials from Um Air and KTA as well as Mahan Air Managing Director Hamid Arabnejad who oversees Mahan Air’s sanctions evasion efforts and provision of support and services to Iran’s IRGC-QF.

Today, the Treasury Department is also identifying additional aircraft operated by Mahan Air and Iran Air that have been provided by Um Air and Bukovyna as blocked pursuant to E.O. 13224 and 13382, respectively.

Um Air

Um Air was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to Mahan Air, by leasing BAe-146 Avro RJ100 aircraft to Mahan Air. In October 2012 and again in January 2013, Um Air delivered additional Bae-146 Avro RJ 100 aircraft to Mahan Air. As of October 2012, Um Air was also actively assisting Mahan Air by helping to train and certify Mahan Air pilots and engineers on BAe-146 aircraft.

Rodrigue Elias Merhej

Rodrigue Elias Merhej was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 as otherwise associated with Um Air because he owns or controls the airline. Merhej is the company's owner and chairman.

Bukovyna AE

Bukovyna AE was designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 for providing financial, material and technological support to Iran Air by leasing aircraft to Iran Air. Combined, Bukovyna AE and Um Air have exported dozens of aircraft into Iran since 2010. Bukovyna and Um Air have upwards of twenty five aircraft in Iran now that are registered in their names. Aircraft provided by Bukovyna have been used by Mahan Air to fly to Syria on numerous occasions.

Kyrgyz Trans Avia

KTA was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to Mahan Air, by leasing aircraft to Mahan Air. KTA has been publicly identified as an umbrella company purposely established for importing aircraft to Iran. In this regard, between 2009 and 2010, KTA acted as an intermediary for Mahan Air's acquisition of eight aircraft, all of which are now identified by Treasury as blocked property operated by Mahan Air. Some of the aircraft supplied by KTA to Mahan Air are used, interchangeably, to move suspected illicit cargo to the Syrian regime and provide civilian passenger flights to Europe and Asia.

Lidia Kim

Lidia Kim was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for acting for or on behalf of KTA by serving as the director of the company. Kim has received funds from a Mahan Air front company for equipment provided to the airline.

Sirjanco Trading L.L.C.

Sirjanco is a United Arab Emirates-based company designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for acting for or on behalf of Mahan Air. Sirjanco was established specifically to serve as a financial front for Mahan Air. Sirjanco has also served as a front for Mahan Air’s acquisition of aircraft. Additionally, Iran’s IRGC-QF has used Sirjanco to procure sanctioned goods.

Hamid Arabnejad

Hamid Arabnejad was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for acting for or on behalf of Mahan Air as the Managing Director of the airline. Arabnejad oversees Mahan Air’s efforts to evade U.S. and international sanctions. Arabnejad has a close working relationship with IRGC-QF personnel and coordinates Mahan Air’s support and services to the paramilitary group. He has also been instrumental in facilitating the shipment of illicit cargo to Syria on Mahan Air aircraft.

AL-NUSRAH FRONT LEADER RECEIVES TERRORIST DESIGNATION

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Terrorist Designation of Al-Nusrah Front Leader Muhammad Al-Jawlani
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 16, 2013

The Department of State has designated al-Nusrah Front leader Muhammad al-Jawlani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. As a result of the designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which al-Jawlani has any interest is blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him or for his benefit. Also, today the Department of the Treasury designated four Assad regime senior officials, as well as two Assad regime-linked entities, Syrian Arab Airlines and Addounia Television.

Al-Jawlani is considered the leader of al-Nusrah. He has stated in videos that his ultimate goal is the overthrow of the Syrian regime and the institution of Islamist shari’a law throughout the country. Al-Jawlani was specifically tasked by al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) to carry out these objectives. Under al-Jawlani’s leadership, al-Nusrah Front has carried out multiple suicide attacks throughout Syria. These attacks have been primarily in Damascus but the group has targeted other areas of the country as well. Many of these attacks have killed innocent Syrian civilians. Al-Nusrah’s claimed operations since the group’s December 2012 designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization have included a January 26, 2013 suicide attack on a military base in Syria’s Quneitra Province, near the Golan Heights; a February 15, 2013 statement claiming responsibility for early February suicide attacks on regime targets in Damascus and the nearby town of al-Shadadi; and a March 20, 2013 statement claiming responsibility for two separate suicide attacks that targeted a bridge and bunker near the city of Homs on March 6, 2013.

Although al-Nusrah Front was formed by AQI in late 2011 as a front for AQI’s activities in Syria, recently al-Jawlani publicly pledged allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qa’ida’s leader. On December 11, 2012, the State Department amended the designations of AQI as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224 to include al-Nusrah Front as an alias.

The violent, sectarian vision of al-Jawlani’s al-Nusrah is at odds with the aspirations of the Syrian people, including the overwhelming majority of the Syrian opposition, who seek a free, democratic, and inclusive Syria and have made clear their desire for a government that respects and advances national unity, dignity, human rights, and equal protection under the law – regardless of faith, ethnicity, or gender.

Extremism and terrorist ideology have no place in a post-Assad Syria, and all responsible Syrians should speak out against al-Qa’ida and other extremist elements. By opting for the use of force against its own people, the Assad regime has created the circumstances that attract the violent extremists, who seek to exploit civil strife for their own purposes. The sooner the political transition to a post-Assad Syria begins, the better it will be for the Syrian people and the region.

MEK DELISTED AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Delisting of the Mujahedin-e Khalq
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 28, 2012
The Secretary of State has decided, consistent with the law, to revoke the designation of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and its aliases as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and to delist the MEK as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. These actions are effective today. Property and interests in property in the United States or within the possession or control of U.S. persons will no longer be blocked, and U.S. entities may engage in transactions with the MEK without obtaining a license. These actions will be published in the Federal Register.

With today’s actions, the Department does not overlook or forget the MEK’s past acts of terrorism, including its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992. The Department also has serious concerns about the MEK as an organization, particularly with regard to allegations of abuse committed against its own members.

The Secretary’s decision today took into account the MEK’s public renunciation of violence, the absence of confirmed acts of terrorism by the MEK for more than a decade, and their cooperation in the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf, their historic paramilitary base.

The United States has consistently maintained a humanitarian interest in seeking the safe, secure, and humane resolution of the situation at Camp Ashraf, as well as in supporting the United Nations-led efforts to relocate eligible former Ashraf residents outside of Iraq.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DESIGNATES BASQUE LEADER AITZOL YARZA AS A TERRORIST

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Terrorist Designation of Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Leader Aitzol Iriondo Yarza

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 21, 2012

The U.S. Department of State has designated Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) leader Aitzol Iriondo Yarza under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. As a result of this designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Iriondo has any interest is blocked and any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him. This action will help stem the flow of financial and other assistance to this ETA leader.


Iriondo, an ETA military leader and explosives expert, is currently detained in France waiting extradition to Spain on terrorism and murder charges. Iriondo’s status as a long term ETA member and his engagement in terrorist activities such as murder, bombings, recruiting, training, and providing logistical support for a terrorist organization, constitute a threat to U.S. interests. Spain and the EU have also listed Iriondo as a terrorist. 


ETA, designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, is responsible for killing more than 800 civilians, police, and military personnel, and injuring thousands of people since it formally began its campaign of violence in 1968. ETA has primarily used bombings and assassinations in its campaign, targeting Spanish government officials, security and military forces, politicians, businessmen, judicial figures, journalists, and tourists. Between 2007 and 2010, more than 400 ETA members have been arrested. Since 2008, Spanish and French authorities have apprehended a number of ETA’s members and top leaders. These arrests have significantly reduced the group’s activities with an estimated 100 ETA members remaining at large. Spanish and French prisons together are estimated to hold more than 750 ETA members.