Friday April 8, 2022
By DERRICK OKUBASU
A seal of the US Department of the Treasury.USA GOVERNMENT
The United States Government has imposed sanctions against nineteen Kenyans and numerous companies.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a freeze on assets owned by the individuals in the list containing Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) and Blocked Persons List released on Tuesday, April 5.
The agency further warned US citizens from dealing with the named persons explaining that the list may include shady individuals such as terrorists and drug traffickers.
The named individuals include Adam Sheikh Hassaan Hussein, Al Masri Abd Al Wakil, Ali Halima Adan (4 alternative Kenyan ID Numbers), Ali Hassan, Al-Nubi Abu, Elbishy Moustafa Ali and Fadhil Mustafa Mohamed.
Others are Fadil Mustafa Muhamad, Fazul Mustafa, Hussein Sheikh Hassaan, Jihad Abu, Man Nu, Mohammed Mustafa, Omar Hassan Mahad, Omar Hassan Mahat, Anis Abu, Hussein, Khalid, and Yussrr Abu.
"As part of its enforcement efforts, OFAC publishes a list of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries. It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers, designated under programs that are not country-specific.
"Collectively, such individuals and companies are called "Specially Designated Nationals" or "SDNs." Their assets are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them," read the OFAC statement, from the US Department of Treasury, in part.
The statement further noted that some individuals are based within the country's borders while others live in troubled Somalia and other countries like Egypt but still hold Kenyan Identification cards.
According to the US Department of Treasury, OFAC is tasked with administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions 'against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers.'
The agency also goes after individuals who threaten the national security of the US, for instance, by engaging in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The sanctions come even as the US continues to battle terror militias across the world, including al Shabaab in Somalia and al Qaeda.
Since July, US Military has carried out more than a dozen strikes in Somalia to eradicate terror groups based in the war-torn country.