Relative of Syrian regime forfeits cash in UK enforcement action

On May 21, 2019, a forfeiture order was granted by Westminster Magistrates Court, allowing the government to seize money from an individual’s UK bank account.  According to the National Crime Agency, the individual had no identifiable source of income and was the niece of Bashar Al Assad, a target of financial sanctions, and the daughter of another sanctions target. The NCA asserted that the individual’s account had been used as part of an informal value transfer system used to circumvent financial sanctions. The account had been made the subject of an account freezing order in November 2018 after the NCA informed the individual’s UK bank of her links to the Syrian regime.

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