Hakim Abad, Nowshera, KPK, Pakistan;
KPK, Pakistan
Reg. ID
DA 1790252, Passport
Official reason
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Pakistani national Abid Ali Khan and the Abid Ali Khan Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, “Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations,” as amended. The Abid Ali Khan TCO is a human smuggling organization based in Nowshera, Pakistan, that has facilitated the unlawful smuggling of foreign nationals, including foreign nationals who may pose a national security risk to the United States or its interests, into the United States using various travel routes through Latin America since at least 2015. Additionally, OFAC designated three individuals and one entity associated with the Abid Ali Khan TCO. Pakistani national Abid Ali Khan (Khan) is the leader of the Abid Ali Khan TCO, a prolific human smuggling organization based in Nowshera, Pakistan. Khan and members of his TCO operate a global network of human smugglers that are responsible for the international smuggling of migrants into the United States. Khan and members of his TCO coordinate the smuggling of foreign nationals to the United States for an average cost of approximately the equivalent of $20,000 USD per individual; this sum includes, but is not limited to, fees to procure fraudulent or counterfeit documents, make payoffs to corrupt officials, secure lodging along smuggling route, and provide payments to facilitators in various countries. Abid Ali Khan TCO often provides travelers with fraudulently obtained passports from different countries to facilitate his clients’ global movement and smuggling to the United States. The Abid Ali Khan TCO frequently utilizes a common route of travel that begins in Pakistan or Afghanistan, transiting through certain South and Central American countries before arriving at the southern border of the United States.
OFAC is also designating three Khan associates for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, or for having acted or having purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Abid Ali Khan TCO. Afghan national Redi Hussein Khal Gul serves as Khan’s secretary, performing functions that include, but are not limited to, initial contact with clients, travel facilitation, and obtaining fraudulent documents for the migrants. Pakistani national Shakeel Karim is an employee of Khan and uses Friends Travel Inn PVT LTD to coordinate travel for migrants. Pakistani national Mohammed Choudry Ikram Waraich serves as Khan’s contact in the Middle East and facilitates travel into the United States. All three individuals are linked to the procurement or use of fraudulent documents for travel or asylum applications, which can significantly impair appropriate immigration vetting processes.
Transnational Criminal Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 590;
Executive Order 13581 of July 24, 2011 Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations
Regime
OFAC-horizontal
Target State
Criminal organizations
Measures
Blocking Property
Official Information
On January 12, 2012, OFAC issued the Transnational Criminal Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 590 (77 FR 1864, January 12, 2012) (the “Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13581 of July 24, 2011, “Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations” (76 FR 44757, July 27, 2011), pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13581. The Regulations were initially issued in abbreviated form for the purpose of providing immediate guidance to the public. OFAC amended the Regulations on July 23, 2019 (84 FR 35307, July 23, 2019) to implement E.O. 13863 of March 15, 2019, “Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency With Respect to Significant Transnational Criminal Organizations” (84 FR 10255, March 19, 2019), which amended E.O. 13581. OFAC is amending and reissuing the Regulations as a more comprehensive set of regulations that includes additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions that will provide further guidance to the public. Due to the number of regulatory sections being updated or added, OFAC is reissuing the Regulations in their entirety.
E.O. 13581 On July 24, 2011, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), issued E.O. 13581. In E.O. 13581, the President found that the activities of significant transnational criminal organizations, such as those listed in the Annex to E.O. 13581, have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. The President further found that such organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous to the United States; they are increasingly entrenched in the operations of foreign governments and the international financial system, thereby weakening democratic institutions, degrading the rule of law, and undermining economic markets. The President stated these organizations facilitate and aggravate violent civil conflicts and increasingly facilitate the activities of other dangerous persons. The President determined that the activities of significant transnational criminal organizations constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
