December 17, 2021

OFAC designates militia group leader in CAR for human rights abuses

On December 17, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Ali Darassa, the leader of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), a militia group based in the Central African Republic (CAR) that has engaged in serious human rights abuses in order to achieve its goals. According to OFAC, under Darassa’s leadership the UPC has killed, tortured, raped and displaced thousands of CAR civilians since 2014, including a 2018 attack on an internally displaced persons camp in Alindo that resulted in approximately 112 deaths and the 2020 detention and torture of four men in Mboki under UPC orders.  Darassa was designated pursuant to EO 13667, that authorizes sanctions for persons contributing to the conflict in CAR, including those who engage in serious abuse or human rights violations in CAR, or those who threaten the peace, security or stability of CAR, among other criteria.

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 U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons.  In addition, entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.

Department of Treasury Press Release