ASSOCIATION FOR CITIZENS RIGHTS AND RESISTANCE TO LIES
DZEMIJETUL FURKAN
ASSOCIATION OF CITIZENS FOR THE SUPPORT OF TRUTH AND SUPPRESSION OF LIES
SIRAT
ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION, CULTURE AND BUILDING SOCIETY - SIRAT
ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION, CULTURAL, AND TO CREATE SOCIETY - SIRAT
ISTIKAMET
IN SIRATEL
Address
Put Mladih Muslimana 30a, Sarajevo, 71 000, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
ul. Strossmajerova 72, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Muhameda Hadzijahica #42, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Official reason
The United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today jointly took action to disrupt the financing and operations of Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust (Al-Furqan), which is the successor entity to the Afghan Support Committee (ASC) and Revival of Islamic Heritage Society branches in Pakistan and Afghanistan (RIHS-Pakistan). Both were designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) and listed on the United Nations (UN) al-Qaida Sanctions List in 2002. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has updated the existing SDGT designations of ASC and RIHS-Pakistan because they are a single organization that changed its name to Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust in order to continue its terrorist financing activities. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia designated Al-Furqan under its Law of Terrorism Crimes and Financing and the Royal Decree A/44. Since its establishment in the mid-2000s, Al-Furqan has provided funding and other support to terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Al-Furqan also has provided funding and other support to terrorist facilitator Shaykh Aminullah, who was designated by the United States and the UN in 2009, and other extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. RIHS-Pakistan changed its name to Al-Furqan after the United States and the UN designated ASC and RIHS-Pakistan in January 2002 for funding al-Qaida. In circa 2004, Al-Furqan replaced ASC after ASC’s designation in January 2002 by the U.S. and the UN for supporting al-Qaida. Al-Furqan was affiliated with and received direct support from U.S.-designated RIHS headquarters in Kuwait. In October 2013, a poster on RIHS’s website depicted RIHS development projects in Pakistan that displayed the emblem of Al-Furqan, suggesting that RIHS was conducting its activities in Pakistan through Al-Furqan. In February 2014, an RIHS social media website depicted another RIHS development project in Pakistan featuring the Al-Furqan emblem. Al-Furqan is a charitable organization that is a major conduit of financial and material support for terrorist groups and their activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in some cases under the guise of humanitarian work. As of November 2013, Al-Furqan was providing funding for the U.S. designated terrorist training center Ganj Madrassa, which was controlled by al-Qaida facilitator Shaykh Aminullah. Al-Furqan was used to manage financial transactions between individuals in the Gulf and Pakistan in support of the Afghan insurgent movement led by Shaykh Aminullah. Afghan insurgent money managers gained access to funds through Al-Furqan with a special note written by Shaykh Aminullah. As of mid-2014, Al-Furqan’s management provided tens of thousands of U.S. dollars to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba leadership. Some of this money was obtained as a result of Al-Furqan’s revenue streams from individuals in the Gulf. As of November 2013, Al-Furqan’s management was affiliated with an Afghan insurgent organization that coordinated militant activities with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. Al-Furqan as of November 2013 has provided aid shipments for unspecified projects in Kashmir, which were delivered under the protection of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. As of January 2011, Al-Furqan financed two Pakistan-based madrassa directors who fought for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, sent madrasa students to fight for Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in Afghanistan, and used Al-Furqan’s funding to stage cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. As of August 2014, Al-Furqan was used to transfer funding on behalf of al-Qaida from sources in the Gulf.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
