WASHINGTON: The US blocked more than USD 46 million in funds of designated terrorist groups, including Pakistan-based outfits, until last year as part of its crackdown on foreign terrorist organisations and individuals, according to an annual report by the treasury department.
The report released by the US Department of Treasury states the US blocked nearly USD 400,000 in funds of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and USD 1,725 of the Jaish-e Mohammed.
The Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the leading US Government agency responsible for implementing sanctions against the assets of international terrorist organisations and terrorism-supporting countries. The federal body implements these sanctions as part of its general mission to administer and enforce economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals.
According to the report, till 2018, the US blocked more than USD 46.1 million in funds of designated terrorist groups and individuals, an increase of about USD 2.5 million than that of USD 43.6 million in 2017.
The list includes the Haqqani network (USD 3,626), the Harkat ul-Mujahidin (USD 11,988) and the Hizbul Mujahideen (USD 2,287). For the Lashkar-I Jhangvi, the amount of funds blocked by the US dropped from USD 12,829 in 2017 to USD 10,962. The report states there was a significant jump in Taliban funds blocked by the United States, which increased from USD 10,728 in 2017 to USD 206,805 in 2018.
However, for the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, the US had blocked a paltry USD 318 in 2018. The US continues to block more than USD 500,000 in funds of Sri Lanka-based the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has remained the same for the past two years.
Notably the al-Qaeda tops the list of the blocked amount, In 2018, the US had blocked USD 6.4 million of the al Qaeda funds, which was nearly USD 900,000 less than the USD 7.3 million blocked in 2017. The OFAC also blocked approximately USD 216.83 million in assets relating to the three designated state sponsors of terrorism in 2018 - Syria, Iran and North Korea.