On November 22, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Ismatullah Khalozai, an international financial facilitator for the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), for supporting ISIS-K’s Afghanistan operations that fund human trafficking networks and the movement of foreign fighters who are responsible for escalating tensions in this region. Khalozai was designated by OFAC as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to the Treasury’s counterterrorism authority, Executive Order 13224, as amended. Khalozai had been previously designated by the US State Department in 2016 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
OFAC coordinated this action to coincide with the State Department’s designation of three ISIS-K leaders – Sanaullah Ghafari, Sultan Aziz Azam, and Maulawi Rajab – as SDGTs.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of today’s designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a US person are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. In addition, entities owned fifty percent or more by one or more designated persons are also blocked. Pursuant to EO 13224, as amended, engaging in certain transactions with today’s designees risks exposure to secondary sanctions. OFAC can prohibit or restrict the opening or maintenance of US correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts by foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate any significant transactions on behalf of a SDGT.
Department of Treasury Press Release | Department of State Press Release