US slams sanctions on Crown Bus for Al-Shabaab ties
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is rolling out sanctions on 16 individuals and entities including Crown Bus in its latest effort to disrupt the financial operations of terror group Al-Shabaab.
In an announcement on Monday, OFAC revealed sanctions against 16 entities and individuals involved in financing and facilitating Al-Shabaab’s activities in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.
Among those sanctioned is Faysal Yusuf Dini, a key financial facilitator for Al-Shabaab based in Kenya. Dini is known to work closely with Mohamed Jumale Ali Awale to plan investment projects and money laundering activities for the terrorist group.
Their operations include managing funds laundered through various companies, including Crown Bus Services, which has also been implicated in supporting Al-Shabaab’s logistical operations.
OFAC’s investigations uncovered a complex network of financial facilitators and companies spanning across the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Haleel Group, a Dubai-based company, was cited as a central player in this network, with subsidiaries and branches in Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, and Cyprus.
Haleel Group’s activities include generating and laundering funds for Al-Shabaab, with Haleel Commodities L.L.C. acting as a key player in the group’s financial operations.
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Al-Shabaab money laundering operations
Abdulkadir Omar Abdullahi, associated with Haleel Group’s Uganda branch, was identified as a director involved in managing and transferring funds for Al-Shabaab.
The network also includes individuals such as Hassan Abdirahman Mahamed and Mohamed Artan Robel, who use money transfer and hawala businesses to support Al-Shabaab’s money laundering operations.
Farhan Hussein Hayder, who directs and manages Haleel Group’s branches in Kenya, Uganda, Cyprus, and the UAE, was exposed for supporting Al-Shabaab by generating funds through these businesses.
The US Department of the Treasury noted that Al-Shabaab’s revenues are not only used to fund its own operations but also disbursed to other al-Qaida-supported groups worldwide.
Al-Shabaab, which is responsible for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in East Africa, poses a big threat to regional stability and global security. The sanctions imposed by OFAC aim to disrupt the flow of funds to the terrorist group and dismantle its financial network, ultimately weakening its ability to carry out acts of terror.
