Washington: Today, the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) announced joint designations of three ISIS facilitators in Africa. The individuals being designated have served as key ISIS financiers and operatives, facilitating the activities of the terrorist group and its leaders operating across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, and South Africa. This is the eighth round of joint designations by the TFTC.

According to U.S. Department of the Treasury, today's joint action underscores a shared commitment to disrupting the ability of ISIS and other terrorist groups to access the international financial system wherever they seek to operate. Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith stated that the United States, along with its TFTC partners, remains resolved to target the terrorist groups, their financiers, and their facilitation networks that enable their deadly attacks and destabilizing activities around the globe.

The TFTC, established in 2017 to enhance U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council coordination against terrorist financing, is focused on coordinating joint disruptive actions, including targeted sanctions, exchanging actionable information on terrorist financing networks, and providing capacity-building workshops to strengthen institutional defenses against terrorist financing.

Gangat and Nabagala were designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 23, 2024, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, for having materially supported ISIS. This action coincided with the 20th meeting of the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG).

Since 2019, Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf has been the head of the ISIS affiliate in Somalia and personally played a key role in the delivery of foreign fighters, supplies, and ammunition on behalf of ISIS-Somalia. ISIS-Somalia serves as a hub for disbursing funds and guidance to ISIS branches and networks across the continent, generating significant funds through extortion and other illicit enterprises.

Yusuf was designated by OFAC on July 27, 2023, pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, ISIS-Somalia.