The United States and Turkey have taken joint action to block a finance network for the Islamic State group, the US Treasury announced Thursday.
The Treasury slapped sanctions on a Syrian, Abd Al Hamid Salim Ibrahim Ismail Brukan al-Khatuni, and his two sons for running what it called the Islamic State’s foreign financing arm in Turkey.
Using a money transfer service in Mersin, Turkey, they helped arrange the transfer of $500,000 to the jihadist group in June 2021, the Treasury said.
A fourth person, Lu’ay Jasim Hammadi al-Juburi worked with them to move money for Islamic State between Turkey, Iraq and Syria through another company, Sham Express.
Islamic State operatives “also used Sham Express to support the smuggling of gold from Syria and Sudan via Iraq, Egypt, and Libya to generate additional revenue,” the Treasury said.
In support of the US sanctions, Turkey’s Ministry of Treasury and Finance and Ministry of Interior have placed an asset freeze on members of the Islamic State finance network.
“These designations and accompanying asset freezes are a result of close coordination and collaboration with our Turkish partners to target IS activity in the region,” said Treasury Under Secretary Brian Nelson in a statement.
