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Treasury Removes Three Former Terrorist Supporters

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today removed Patricia Rosa Vinck, Barakaat International, and Barakaat International Foundation from its Specially Designated Nationals List, having found that Vinck and the two entities no longer present a significant threat of supporting terrorism. Today's action was taken in conjunction with a removal of the three names from the United Nations' 1267 Sanctions Committee (U.N. 1267 Committee) Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to U.N. sanctions measures.

"The U.S. Government is actively supporting the comprehensive review underway at the U.N. 1267 Committee to ensure the efficacy, accuracy, and fairness of this vital sanctions regime," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "We are reviewing the evidentiary records for hundreds of listings - advocating for continued preventative sanctions against those who pose a significant threat of supporting terrorism and removal of those who do not."

Vinck, Barakaat International, and Barakaat International Foundation were all designated by the Treasury Department under Executive Order 13224 and by the U.N. 1267 Committee. The Treasury Department and the United Nations designated Vinck in January 2003 and the two Barakaat entities in November 2001.

Vinck is the wife of Nabil Abdul Salam Sayadi, who headed the Belgium office of the Global Relief Foundation (GRF), an organization designated in October 2002 by the United States and the United Nations for its support to al Qaida. Vinck served as the secretary of GRF's Belgium office and facilitated GRF's activities. Following U.S. and U.N. sanctions against her, Vinck ceased her activities on behalf of GRF.

The Barakaat organizations were part of a financial conglomerate operating in 40 countries around the world that facilitated the financing and operations of al Qaida and other terrorist organizations. The U.S. and U.N. sanctions against these entities assisted the global effort to prevent them from routing funds to al Qaida and other terrorist groups, and the two organizations are no longer operating. Other designated entities and individuals related to the Barakaat conglomerate remain on the U.S. and U.N. sanctions lists.

The U.N. 1267 Committee is currently implementing a number of procedural and other measures called for by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1822, adopted in June 2008, to improve the effectiveness and fairness of U.N. sanctions. These measures include a comprehensive review of the approximately 500 names on the U.N. 1267 Committee's Consolidated List to be completed by June 2010. The resolution also mandates the establishment and posting on the U.N. 1267 Committee's website of narrative summaries of reasons for the listing of all individuals and entities on the Consolidated List, and updates to the U.N. 1267 Committee's listing and delisting procedures. The United States strongly supports and is participating vigorously in these efforts.

More information about the activities of the U.N. 1267 Committee, including the Consolidated List and corresponding narrative summaries, can be found on the U.N. 1267 Committee's website at www.un.org/sc/committees/1267.

Detailed information about Treasury's anti-terrorism sanctions program and the Specially Designated Nationals List are provided on OFAC's website at www.treas.gov/ofac.

Source: U.S. Department of State