US targets al Shabab fundraisers, money launderers with sanctions

WASHINGTON - The US Department of the Treasury on Monday imposed sanctions on what it said was an international fundraising and money-laundering network for the al Shabab militant group operating in Somalia.

The sanctions targeted 16 entities and individuals across the Horn of Africa region, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, the Treasury said in a statement.

The action, which follows US sanctions against a separate network linked to al Shabab in October 2022, freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

It said al Shabab, which Washington considers a terrorist group, generates over $100 million a year, including by extorting local businesses.

Al Shabab, linked to al Qaeda, has been waging an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 in a bid to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

"The threat posed by al-Shabab is not limited to Somalia," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. "Al-Shabab’s revenues are disbursed to other al-Qaeda-linked groups worldwide and help fund al-Qaeda’s global ambitions to commit acts of terrorism and undermine good governance."