The United States has recently sanctioned a key financial supporter for ISIS inside Turkey, according to a statement from the US Treasury Department.
Washington has accused Turkey of “undermining” the fight against ISIS last year and sanctioned two ministries and three senior Turkish government officials for a military campaign against US-allied forces in Syria.
“The Turkish Government’s actions are endangering innocent civilians, and destabilizing the region, including undermining the campaign to defeat ISIS,” the US Treasury Department said at the time.
This week, the Treasury Department announced the designation of two ISIS financial facilitators in Syria and Turkey.
“This action coincides with the thirteenth meeting of the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG), which includes over 60 countries and international organizations, and plays a fundamental role in coordinating efforts to deny ISIS access to the international financial system and eliminate its sources of revenue,” a statement from the US agency said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the Trump administration was fully committed to disrupting ISIS’s financial activities and networks. “Together, with our CIFG partners, we must remain vigilant to ensure that the global remnants of this terrorist group do not regain a foothold,” Mnuchin said.
According to the Treasury Department, one of the ISIS supporters, Adnan Amin Muhammad al-Rawi, was an ISIS facilitator in Turkey.
The statement also said that the latest US designation was part of a series of actions since 2016, when “ISIS finance emir Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi,” was designated. “Since then, Treasury has continued targeting other al-Rawi network members and their associated entities for providing critical financial and logistical support to ISIS,” according to the statement.
Jubayr al-Rawi, in 2016, owned and operated a currency exchange business, which he used to exchange currency between exchange houses in Syria and Turkey.
