Member countries of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which include Saudi Arabia, designated 16 individuals, entities and groups as terrorists, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.
Established in 2017, the TFTC includes the US, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and aims to strengthen efforts to confront regional money laundering and terrorist financing networks.
The individuals and entities, which have all been previously designated by the US, include three individuals and two groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), four individuals and one company associated with ISIS, and six financiers affiliated with Boko Haram.
Affiliated with the IRGC
A Lebanese identified as Ali Qasir and two Iranians, Meghdad Amini and Morteza Hashemi, have been designated for being associated with the IRGC-QF and Lebanon’s “terrorist” Hezbollah party.
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According to the US Treasury, Amini and Qasir supervise a network of around 20 people and front companies in several countries for the purpose of financing Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF by facilitating “the sale of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of gold, electronics and foreign currency.”
Hashemi directs multiple companies based out of Hong Kong and mainland China and has exploited his “access to the international financial system to launder vast sums of money for the IRGC-QF and Hezbollah.”
The two groups designated for their affiliation with the IRGC are Saraya al-Mukhtar and Saraya al-Ashtar which targeted Bahrain and received financial, military, and logistical support from the IRGC.
According to the US Treasury, Saraya al-Mukhtar planned attacks targeting US personnel in Bahrain while Saraya al-Ashtar targeted security forces in Bahrain and also encouraged violence against the government of Britain, Saudi Arabia and the US via social media.
Affiliated with ISIS and its branches
A company as well four individuals were designated over their ties with ISIS and its branches.
They were identified as Ismatullah Khalozai, an Afghan citizen linked to ISIS-Khorsan Province, and Alaa Khanfurah, Baraa al-Qatirji and Hussam al-Qatirji, Syrian citizens affiliated with ISIS.
Baraa al-Qatirji and Hussam al-Qatirji are the founders of al-Qatirji Company which was also designated for facilitating the sale of oil to ISIS and for cooperating with the IRGC-QF.
According to the US Treasury, al-Qatirji Company, which is based in Syria, has also delivered weapons to Syria from Iraq. In 2016, it provided supplies to ISIS-controlled territories.
“In a 2016 trade deal between the Government of Syria and ISIS, al-Qatirji Company was identified as the exclusive agent for providing supplies to ISIS-controlled areas, including oil and other commodities,” the US Treasury said.
Affiliated with Boko Haram
Six Nigerians identified as Abdurrahman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Mohammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali al-Hassan, and Surajo Abubakar Mohammed were designated for establishing a cell in the UAE to raise money and provide financial help to Boko Haram in Nigeria.
All six men were found guilty by a UAE court in 2019, the US Treasury said, adding that they have transferred $782,000 from Dubai to Boko Haram in Nigeria.
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