The U.S. recently took action against members of a Brazil-based al-Qaida network and their related companies to prevent funding for the organization and curtail its influence in the country and beyond.
Haytham Ahmad Shukri Ahmad Al-Maghrabi, a founding member of the al-Qaida support network, Mohamed Sherif Mohamed Awadd and Ahmad Al-Khatib were added to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list, a Dec. 22 State Department press release said.
"Al-Maghrabi had frequent contact and business dealings, to include the purchase of foreign currency, with another al-Qa’ida-affiliated individual based in Brazil," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinkin said in the release.
Awadd, who received bank transfers from other al-Qaida associates in Brazil and played a key role in the group, is the lone shareholder of Home Elegance Comercio de Moveis EIRELI, a furniture company based in Sau Paulo, Brazil, a U.S. Department of the Treasury Press release said. He is also responsible for printing counterfeit currency.
Al-Khatib is the lone shareholder of Enterprise Comercio de Moveis e Intermediacao de Negocios EIRELI, another Sao Paulo-based furniture business, the Treasury release said. He was designated “for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Mohamed Ahmed Elsayed Ahmed Ibrahim.”
“The activities of this Brazil-based network demonstrate that al-Qa’ida remains a pervasive global terrorist threat, and today’s designations will help deny the group’s access to the formal financial system,” Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian E. Nelson said in the Treasury release. “The United States is committed to working with our foreign partners, including Brazil, to dismantle al-Qa’ida’s financial support networks.”
The Treasury Department noted in its release that al-Qaida and its regional affiliates have been generating revenue from fundraisers located in Gulf nations as well as supporters worldwide. In an effort to limit the organization’s revenue streams, the U.S. has designated almost 300 people and organizations with known ties to the terrorist group in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf, Africa, and other regions.
