The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on Afaq Dubai, an Iraq-based money services business that has been moving money for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The designation, announced on Oct. 16, follows action taken by the Department of Defense—announced on Oct. 11 against a key ISIS financial facilitation group. This money services business (MSB) is a part of ISIS’s financial network that includes an array of other MSBs, hawalas, and financial facilitators in the Middle East.
Pursuant to Executive Order 13224, OFAC named Afaq Dubai as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist “for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of ISIS,” OFAC said. Afaq Dubai is located in Iraq and does not have any branches in the United Arab Emirates.
The action is a continuation of Treasury’s ongoing efforts to shut down financial facilitators and MSBs worldwide that move money on behalf of ISIS. It follows the designation of two ISIS financial facilitators in September with ties to the Caribbean and the Middle East.
In 2016, OFAC designated Selselat al Thahab Money Exchange in Iraq, ISIS financier Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi and, his company, the Hanifa Currency Exchange in Albu Kamal, Syria. Prior to his death, al-Rawi used the Hanifa Currency Exchange in Albu Kamal, Syria, and a global network of financiers to move millions of dollars on behalf of the terrorist group.
Due to this action, all property and interests in property of Afaq Dubai subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
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