Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated key leaders and financial facilitators of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qa’ida in Maldives, including 20 ISIS, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), and al-Qa’ida operatives. OFAC also designated 29 companies associated with the individuals sanctioned today, who include leaders of Maldives-based terrorist-affiliated criminal gangs and associates of key ISIS-K recruiter Mohamad Ameen who was designated by OFAC in 2019. Several of the individuals being designated today have also planned or carried out attacks that targeted journalists and local authorities.
In addition to the individuals and entities added to the sanctions list today, OFAC added Digital Currency Address - USDT TVacWx7F5wgMgn49L5frDf9KLgdYy8nPHL. That address is associated with Ali Shafiu, a Maldivian national, who in 2018, according to OFAC, traveled through Pakistan to Afghanistan to join ISIS-K and had previously attempted to go to Syria in 2015. According to OFAC, Shafiu, as recently as 2022, was a part of ISIS-K’s media office, was the Maldivian representative to ISIS-K leadership in Afghanistan, and owned or controlled two Maldives-based companies also designated by OFAC today.
Notably, the address associated with Ali Shafiu has on-chain links to addresses that TRM has linked to the media units of ISIS-K and ISIS in Pakistan.
The individuals and entities sanctioned by OFAC were involved in recruiting, producing propaganda, providing material support to ISIS and al-Qa’ida, engaging in criminal activity to fund terrorist operations, and planning various terrorist attacks including the targeting of journalists, assassination attempts, and attacks utilizing improvised explosive devices and drones.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons or entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from all transactions involving these individuals and entities.
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