On Monday, January 29th, the United States and United Kingdom jointly sanctioned 11 individuals for their connections to a criminal network that has been planning assassinations of dissidents abroad at the order of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said, “
The United States and United Kingdom are taking joint action today to impose sanctions on 11 individuals for their connection to a criminal network that has targeted foreign dissidents and Iranian regime opponents for assassination at the behest of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The individuals designated today are believed to be involved in a network that has carried out acts of transnational repression, including numerous assassinations and kidnappings, and has also plotted operations in the United States.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is implementing the sanctions on these individuals following the public disclosure of the indictments by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released a statement saying:
“The OFAC and the United Kingdom are taking joint action against a network of individuals that targeted Iranian dissidents and opposition activists for assassination at the direction of the Iranian regime. The network is led by Iranian narcotics trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti (Zindashti) and operates at the behest of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Zindashti’s network has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression including assassinations and kidnappings across multiple jurisdictions in an attempt to silence the Iranian regime’s perceived critics. The network has also plotted operations in the United States.”
Brian Nelson, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, also stated that the United States, along with its international allies and partners, will continue to use all available tools to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its efforts to expand its repression and ongoing violations of human rights against its own people, as well as its destabilizing actions in the Middle East and beyond.
The Department of Justice, in a statement on Monday, provided further details, stating that an Iranian national and two Canadian nationals have been accused of conspiring to use interstate commerce to lure an individual for the purpose of carrying out a murder.
According to court documents, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, 48, Damion Patrick John Ryan, 43, and Adam Richard Pearson, 29, conspired between December 2020 and March 2021 to plan the killing of two residents of the state of Maryland.
The suspects, one of whom is based in Iran, communicated through the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC. They used this messaging service to discuss the identities and locations of potential victims, plan the logistics and details of the killings, and negotiate the payment amount for carrying out these acts in the state of Maryland.
The targeted victims of this conspiracy, who were living in Maryland at the time, had fled to the United States after one of them left Iran.
Simultaneously with the issuance of the indictment on Monday, January 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on this criminal network led by Zindashti, which targeted opponents and activists opposed to the Iranian government for abduction and assassination purposes at the order of the Iranian regime.
Consequences of the sanctions:
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as a result of this action, all property and interests in property of these individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to the OFAC. The sanctions generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transit transactions through the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of designated or blocked persons.
Furthermore, individuals who engage in certain transactions with the designated individuals today may themselves be subject to the sanctions. Additionally, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for any of the designated individuals may be subject to U.S. sanctions.
