NAJIB & ROSMAH’S DAYS OF GLORY ARE OVER: TRUMP PUTS THE WORLD’S WORST CROOKS & KILLERS ON NOTICE

After months of conflicting messages, last week the Trump administration took a big step toward drastically expanding punishments for human rights abusers and kleptocrats all over the world. The move also reveals how government professionals and political officials inside the administration are finding ways to work together one year into the Trump presidency.

There was understandable skepticism that the Trump team would enthusiastically enforce the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, signed by President Barack Obama in his final days in office, which authorizes the president to block visas and sanction individuals and entities from any country that abuses human rights or engages in “acts of significant corruption.” But the first-ever list of 51 such targets, announced by the State and Treasury departments on Dec. 21, was a clear sign the Trump administration is supporting the law and implementing it in good faith.

The world’s worst crooks and killers should be running scared. The law and the executive order President Donald Trump issued make it much easier for the U.S. government to single out and punish egregious cases of abuse. Included in the list were Artem Chayka, the son of the prosecutor general of Russia; Gao Yan, a senior Chinese security official; and Maung Maung Soe, who oversaw Burmese military atrocities against ethnic Rohingya.

“Today, the United States is taking a strong stand against human rights abuse and corruption globally by shutting these bad actors out of the U.S. financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, promising that the Trump administration would continue holding human rights abusers to account.

A senior administration official said last week’s actions were meant to set the standard going forward for Trump’s human rights policy. Although Congress requires an annual report on the law’s implementation, the Trump team is expected to issue new Global Magnitsky sanctions on a rolling basis, meaning rights abusers cannot enjoy confidence that they are safe at any time.

The new approach does seem to run counter to signals that have been coming from the administration’s top ranks. In May, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said promoting American values is too often “an obstacle” to advancing U.S. interests. His top policy staffer, Brian Hook, then wrote him a memo explaining why and how human rights promotion can be a useful tool in foreign policy.

The president’s national security strategy, also issued last week, barely mentions human rights, instead focusing on enhancing American influence by setting a good example. “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but we will champion the values without apology,” Trump said in his speech rolling out the document.

Amid all that confusion, Trump’s government produced a list of human rights abusers to sanction that was serious, well-constructed and crafted to implement the law as intended, said Daniel Fried, who was the State Department’s sanctions co-ordinator during the Obama administration.

 

The Trump list gets at some of the worst actors without being so expansive as to exacerbate the risk of abuse and overreach, Fried said. That shows the experts at the State and Treasury departments were given the support needed from higher-ups to do the job right.

“Despite all this talk about the ‘deep state,’ it shows how the professionals who run the policy are capable of working under difficult circumstances and doing great work,” Fried said. “And if the Trump administration gets credit for it, so be it.”

The authors of the law, Sens. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., and John McCain, R-Ariz., praised the administration in a statement but also expressed their gratitude to career professionals inside the bureaucracy “whose expertise and dedication to justice made today’s Global Magnitsky sanctions designations possible.”

Hermitage Capital Management chief William Browder, who started the Magnitsky effort years ago, compared the Trump administration’s action favourably to that of the Obama team. Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in Russian custody in 2009 after being tortured. He had exposed Russian corruption, and his arrest and posthumous conviction are widely believed to have been politically motivated.

Browder’s first effort was to help enact a Russia-specific Magnitsky bill, which Obama signed reluctantly in 2012 after it passed overwhelmingly in Congress. In response, the Russian government banned American adoption of Russian children.

Russia’s campaign against the original Magnitsky bill was expansive and included an approach by Russian lobbyists to the Trump campaign that resulted in a now infamous June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. That probe has clearly backfired, as the Trump administration is implementing both Magnitsky laws with vigour.

No matter how or why it happened, this is a step in the right direction for the Trump administration. Still, absent a comprehensive, organized and well- articulated human rights policy, it won’t be nearly enough.

MEANWHILE, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20171221.aspx):

Issuance of Global Magnitsky Executive Order; Global Magnitsky Designations

​The President has issued a new Executive Order on December 20, 2017 Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuses and Corruption. OFAC is concurrently releasing new FAQs related to this Executive Order and the office is publishing the following designations.

OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL

Specially Designated Nationals List Update

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The following individuals have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:  

BADJIE, Yankuba (a.k.a. BADGIE, Yankuba; a.k.a. BADJI, Yankouba), Banjul, The Gambia; DOB 25 Feb 1973; alt. DOB 24 Feb 1973; POB New Jeshwang, Kanifang Municipality, The Gambia; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].

BOL MEL, Benjamin (a.k.a. BOL MEL KUOL, Benjamin; a.k.a. BOL MOL KUOT, Benjamin; a.k.a. BOL, Benjamin; a.k.a. BOR, Benjamin), Othaya Road, Othaya Villas House #2, Nairobi 00202, Kenya; Hai-Jalaba, Centre Street, Juba, Central Equatoria, South Sudan; Juba, South Sudan; DOB 03 Jan 1978; alt. DOB 24 Dec 1978; POB Awiil, Sudan; alt. POB Rialdit, South Sudan; alt. POB Warrap State, South Sudan; alt. POB Abiem, Aweil East County, Northern Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan; nationality South Sudan; alt. nationality Sudan; Gender Male; Passport B00000006 (South Sudan) issued 26 Jul 2013 expires 26 Jul 2018; President of ABMC Thai-South Sudan Construction Company (individual) [GLOMAG].

CHAYKA, Artem Yuryevich (a.k.a. CHAIKA, Artem), 38/2 Staraya Basmannaya, Apt. 310, Moscow, Russia; DOB 25 Sep 1975; POB Sverdlovsk, Russia; Gender Male; National ID No. 4501052463 (Russia) (individual) [GLOMAG].

DEBOUTTE, Pieter Albert; DOB 15 Jun 1966; POB Roeselare, Flanders, Belgium; nationality Belgium; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan; Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED; Linked To: GERTLER FAMILY FOUNDATION).

GAO, Yan, Beijing, China; DOB Apr 1963; POB Hongtong, Shanxi, China; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].

GERTLER, Dan, 17 Daniel Street, Bnei Brak, Israel; 28 Daniel Street, Bnei Brak, Israel; Avenue Tchatchi 29, Gombe, Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the; DOB 23 Dec 1973; POB Tel Aviv, Israel; nationality Israel; alt. nationality Congo, Democratic Republic of the; Gender Male; Passport 10945182 (Israel) issued 28 Jun 2010 expires 27 Jun 2020; alt. Passport 10926248 (Israel) issued 25 Feb 2008 expires 27 Feb 2018; alt. Passport DB0009084 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the) issued 28 May 2015 expires 27 May 2020; National ID No. 027100619 (Israel) (individual) [GLOMAG].

JAMMEH, Yahya (a.k.a. JAMMEH BABILI MANSA, Yahya AJJ; a.k.a. JAMMEH, Alhaji Dr. Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung; a.k.a. JAMMEH, Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung), Equatorial Guinea; DOB 25 May 1965; POB Kanilai, The Gambia; nationality The Gambia; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].

JUAREZ RAMIREZ, Julio Antonio (a.k.a. JUAREZ, Julio), Quinta Esterlima Km. 152.5, San Bernardino, Suchitepequez, Guatemala; DOB 01 Dec 1980; POB Mazatenango, Guatemala; nationality Guatemala; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].

KARIMOVA, Gulnara (a.k.a. KARIMOVA, Goulnara; a.k.a. KARIMOVA, Goulnora Islamovna; a.k.a. “Googoosha”), Tashkent, Uzbekistan; DOB 08 Jul 1972; POB Fergana, Uzbekistan; nationality Uzbekistan; citizen Uzbekistan; Gender Female; Passport DA0006735 (Uzbekistan) (individual) [GLOMAG].

KUSIUK, Sergey (a.k.a. KUSYUK, Sergej Nikolaevich; a.k.a. KUSYUK, Serhiy; a.k.a. KYSYUK, Sergei), Moscow, Russia; DOB 01 Dec 1966; POB Malaya Mochulka, Vinnitska, Ukraine; nationality Ukraine; alt. nationality Russia; Gender Male (individual) [GLOMAG].

RIVAS REYES, Roberto Jose, Managua, Nicaragua; DOB 06 Jul 1954; POB Matagalpa, Nicaragua; nationality Nicaragua; Gender Male; Passport A00000604 (Nicaragua) issued 19 Jun 2013 expires 19 Jun 2023; alt. Passport 04091979435 (Nicaragua) issued 19 Jun 2013 expires 19 Jun 2023; National ID No. 4410607540007S (Nicaragua) (individual) [GLOMAG].

RONDON RIJO, Angel, Ave Anacaona #83 Torre Caney Apt 25, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; DOB 16 Jul 1950; POB Higuey, Dominican Republic; Gender Male; Passport SC2249384 (Dominican Republic) issued 14 Jan 2015 expires 14 Jan 2021; alt. Passport 3297843 (Dominican Republic) issued 14 Jan 2015 expires 14 Jan 2021; National ID No. 00101629970 (Dominican Republic) (individual) [GLOMAG].

SHAH, Mukhtar Hamid, 1 Hill Park Jhellum Road, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan; DOB 11 Aug 1939; alt. DOB 08 Nov 1939; POB Chakwal, Pakistan; nationality Pakistan; Gender Male; National ID No. 3740502728729 (Pakistan) (individual) [GLOMAG].

SOE, Maung Maung, Burma; DOB Mar 1964; nationality Burma; Gender Male; National ID No. Tatmadaw Kyee 19571 (Burma) (individual) [GLOMAG].

TESIC, Slobodan (a.k.a. SLOBODAN, Tezic), Serbia; DOB 21 Dec 1958; POB Kiseljak, Bosnia and Herzegovina; nationality Serbia; citizen Serbia; Gender Male; Passport 009511357 (Serbia) expires 27 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 007671811 (Serbia) expires 05 Aug 2019 (individual) [GLOMAG].

The following entities have been added to OFAC’s SDN List:

ABMC THAI-SOUTH SUDAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED (a.k.a. ABM CONSTRUCTION COMPANY; a.k.a. ABMC THAI SOUTH SUDAN CONSTRUCTION; a.k.a. AGGREGATE BUILDING MATERIALS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY; a.k.a. THAI SOUTH SUDAN CRUSHER, AGGREGATES, AND BUILDING MATERIALS COMPANY; a.k.a. TSSABM), Customs Area, Adjacent to the Bus Park, Juba, South Sudan; Jebel Kujur, Juba-Yei Road, South Sudan; Luri, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan [GLOMAG] (Linked To: BOL MEL, Benjamin).

AFRICA HORIZONS INVESTMENT LIMITED, Cayman Islands; 57/63 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, Gibraltar [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

AFRICADA AIRWAYS, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

AFRICADA FINANCIAL SERVICES AND BUREAU DE CHANGE LTD (a.k.a. AFRICADA FINANCIAL SERVICES & BUREAU DE CHANGE LTD), The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

AFRICADA INSURANCE COMPANY, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

AFRICADA MICRO-FINANCE LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

ATLANTIC PELICAN COMPANY LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

CAPRIKAT AND FOXWHELP SARL, Congo, Democratic Republic of the [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED; Linked To: CAPRIKAT LIMITED; Linked To: FOXWHELP LIMITED).

CAPRIKAT LIMITED, Akara Building, 24 Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, P.O. Box 3136, Road Town, Tortola, Virgin Islands, British; Public Registration Number 1577164 (Virgin Islands, British) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

CHARSO LIMITED, P. Lordos Center, Makariou C’Avenue & Vironos Street, Block B, Floor 2, Flat 203 3105, Limassol, Cyprus; Elli Court 210, Archiepiskopou Makariou C’Avenue, 2nd Floor Apt 4, 3030, Limassol, Cyprus; Registration ID C301690 (Cyprus) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: TESIC, Slobodan).

D.G.D. INVESTMENTS LTD. (f.k.a. DAN GERTLER DIAMONDS LTD.), 23 Tuval, Ramat Gan 5252238, Israel; P.O. Box 101, Ramat Gan 5210002, Israel; Public Registration Number 512253352 (Israel) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

D.G.I. ISRAEL LTD, 23 Tuval, Ramat Gan 5252238, Israel; P.O. Box 101, Ramat Gan 5210002, Israel; Public Registration Number 513686220 (Israel) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

DGI MINING LTD, Palm Grove House, P.O. Box 438, Road Town, Tortola, Virgin Islands, British; Public Registration Number 649877 (Virgin Islands, British) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

EMAXON FINANCE INTERNATIONAL INC. (a.k.a. INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CORPORATION EMAXON INC.), 8356 Rue Labarre, Montreal, Quebec H4P2E7, Canada; Business Number 1160199932 (Canada) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

FLEURETTE HOLDINGS NETHERLANDS B.V., Industrieweg 5, Nieuwkoop, Zuid-Holland 2421 LK, Netherlands; Chamber of Commerce Number 55389694 (Netherlands); Legal Entity Number 851683897 (Netherlands) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED, Strawinskylaan 335, WTC, B-Tower 3rd floor, Amsterdam 1077 XX, Netherlands; Gustav Mahlerplein 60, 7th Floor, ITO Tower, Amsterdam 1082 MA, Netherlands; 70 Batetela Avenue, Tilapia Building, 5th floor, Kinshasa, Gombe, Congo, Democratic Republic of the; 57/63 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, Gibraltar; Public Registration Number 99450 (Gibraltar) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

FOXWHELP LIMITED, Akara Building, 24 Castro Street, Wickhams Cay 1, P.O. Box 3136, Road Town, Tortola, Virgin Islands, British; Public Registration Number 1577165 (Virgin Islands, British) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

GERTLER FAMILY FOUNDATION (a.k.a. LA FONDATION FAMILLE GERTLER), Congo, Democratic Republic of the [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

GRAWIT LIMITED, Elli Court, Floor 2, Flat 4, 210, Makariou III Limassol, 3030, Limassol, Cyprus; Registration ID HE272654 (Cyprus) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: TESIC, Slobodan).

HOME AND AWAY LTD., Hai-Amarat (off May Street), Juba, South Sudan [GLOMAG] (Linked To: BOL MEL, Benjamin).

INTERNATIONAL DIAMOND INDUSTRIES (a.k.a. “IDI”), Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan).

JARVIS CONGO SARL, No. 70 Batetela Avenue, Tilapia Building (Orange), 5th floor, Kinshasa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the; No. 790 Panda Avenue, Golf Quarter, Lubumbashi, Congo, Democratic Republic of the [GLOMAG] (Linked To: DEBOUTTE, Pieter Albert; Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

KANILAI GROUP INTERNATIONAL (a.k.a. KGI INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LTD), Banjul, The Gambia; P.O. Box 3070 Serrekunda, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

KANILAI WORNI FAMILY FARMS LTD (a.k.a. KANILAI FAMILY FARMS; a.k.a. KANILAI FARMS LIMITED; a.k.a. KANILAI WORNI FARMS), Kanilai, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

KORA MEDIA CORPORATION LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

LORA ENTERPRISES LIMITED, Virgin Islands, British [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED; Linked To: ZUPPA HOLDINGS LIMITED).

OIL OF DR CONGO SPRL (a.k.a. OIL OF DRCONGO), 14 Avenue Sergent Moke, Kinshasa, Gombe, Congo, Democratic Republic of the [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

ORAMA PROPERTIES LTD, Palm Grove House, P.O. Box 438, Road Town, Tortola, Virgin Islands, British; Public Registration Number 1041202 (Virgin Islands, British) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

PALM GROVE AFRICA DEV’T CORP. LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

PATRIOT INSURANCE BROKERS CO. LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

PREDUZECE ZA TRGOVINU NA VELIKO I MALO PARTIZAN TECH DOO BEOGRAD-SAVSKI VENAC (a.k.a. PARTIZAN ARMS; a.k.a. PARTIZAN ARMS DOO; a.k.a. PARTIZAN TECH DOO; a.k.a. PARTIZAN TECH DOO BEOGRAD), Maglajska 19 11000, Beograd (Savski Venac), Serbia; Website www.partizanarms.rs; Registration ID 20125225 (Serbia); Tax ID No. 104260278 [GLOMAG] (Linked To: TESIC, Slobodan).

PROGLAN CAPITAL LTD, 23 Tuval, Ramat Gan 5252238, Israel; P.O. Box 101, Ramat Gan 5210002, Israel; Public Registration Number 515000354 (Israel) [GLOMAG] (Linked To: D.G.D. INVESTMENTS LTD.).

ROYAL AFRICA CAPITAL HOLDING LTD (a.k.a. ROYAL AFRICA HOLDING), The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

ROYAL AFRICA SECURITIES BROKERAGE CO LTD, The Gambia [GLOMAG] (Linked To: JAMMEH, Yahya).

ROZARO DEVELOPMENT LIMITED, 57/63 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar [GLOMAG] (Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

TECHNOGLOBAL SYSTEMS DOO BEOGRAD (a.k.a. CALIDUS TRADE DOO; a.k.a. CALIDUS TRADE DOO BEOGRAD), Maglajska 19 11000, Beograd 6, Beograd, Serbia; Registration ID 20295066 (Serbia); Tax ID No. 105012258 [GLOMAG] (Linked To: TESIC, Slobodan).

ZUPPA HOLDINGS LIMITED, Virgin Islands, British [GLOMAG] (Linked To: GERTLER, Dan; Linked To: FLEURETTE PROPERTIES LIMITED).

– https://www.thestar.com   /https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20171221.aspx