Specially Designated Terrorist

A Specially Designated Terrorist (SDT) is any person who is determined by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated terrorist (SDT) under notices or regulations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).[1]

The U.S. government began to use economic sanctions against international terrorists in 1995.[2] The lead agency in the effort has been OFAC, under the U.S. Treasury Department.[2]

Executive Order 12947, issued by President Bill Clinton on January 23, 1995, prohibits financial transactions with any SDT.[1][2][3] Twelve organizations and 18 people were identified in the Order as threatening disruption of the Middle East peace process. The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Attorney General were given the power to add other organizations and people to the list.[1][4][5] On August 20, 1998, President Clinton expanded the list by Executive Order 13099.[2]

All of the assets of all SDTs were frozen. In addition, transfers of "funds, goods, or services" to SDTs were prohibited.[6][7][8][9] Also, any U.S. entity that holds any funds in which any interest is held in an SDT was required under the law to report its interest to appropriate U.S. authorities.[1][3][6][10][11] The sanctions apply to any entity "owned or controlled by", or acting on behalf of, an SDT.[1][3][12][13][14] They also apply to foreign branches of U.S. entities, but not to subsidiaries formed under non-U.S. law.[3][15][16][17][18]

On January 25, 1995, Hamas and Hezbollah were listed as SDTs, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook was added in August 1995, Osama bin Laden was added in 1998, and on December 4, 2001, OFAC designated the Holy Land Foundation as an SDT.[3][19][20] On February 28, 2006, Sami Al-Arian signed a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to contribute services to or for the benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a SDT organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; he was sentenced to 57 months in prison.[21][22][23]

The SDT list appears in the Federal Register, which is updated regularly.[24][25][26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Costigan, Sean S.; Gold, David. Terrornomics. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-4995-3. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 U.S. Treasury Department. "Terrorist Assets Report; Calendar Year 2002". Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Clinton, William J. (January 23, 1995). "Executive Order 12947". Wikisource. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Islamic Jihad Leader's Bank Accounts Frozen". Gainesville Sun. November 3, 1995. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  5. ↑ The Code of Federal regulations of the United States of America. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Code of Federal regulations of the United States of America. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  7. ↑ International economics and ... September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ United States Export Controls. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  9. ↑ 9-11 And Beyond. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Infiltration: how Muslim spies and subversives have penetrated Washington'', Paul Sperry. Thomas Nelson Inc. 2005. ISBN 1-59555-003-8. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  11. ↑ Terrornomics. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ The Code of Federal regulations of the United States of America. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  13. ↑ Terrornomics. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  14. ↑ International economics and ... September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ The law and business of international project finance'', Scott L. Hoffman. Kluwer Law International. 2001. ISBN 1-57105-176-7. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  16. ↑ The Code of Federal regulations of the United States of America. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  17. ↑ The Code of Federal regulations of the United States of America. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  18. ↑ Terrornomics. September 11, 2001. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  19. ↑ Checkpoints in cyberspace: best practices to avert liability in cross-border transactions, American Bar Association, Roland L. Trope, Gregory E. Upchurch, 2005, ISBN 1-59031-429-8, accessed March 12, 2010
  20. ↑ Unfunding terror: the legal response to the financing of global terrorism'', Jimmy Gurulé. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2008. ISBN 1-84542-962-1. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Hillsborough: Plea deal overcame the discord". Sptimes.com. April 24, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Plea Agreement; U.S. v. Al-Arian". February 28, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  23. ↑ U.S. Department of Justice (May 1, 2006). "Sami Al-Arian Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Assisting Terrorist Group". Press Release. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  24. ↑ To supply or to deny: comparing nonproliferation export controls in five key countries'', Michael David Beck, Michael David Beck. Kluwer Law International. 2003. ISBN 90-411-2216-8. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  25. ↑ The cost of counterterrorism: power, politics, and liberty, Laura K. Donohue, Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 0-521-84444-4, accessed March 12, 2010
  26. ↑ "Hamas-Linked US Ventures Under Scrutiny". Fox News. April 27, 2004. Retrieved September 28, 2010.

External links