Statement by FinCEN Director Kenneth A. Blanco in Support of Recent Anti-Terrorism Financing Actions by Argentina’s Financial Intelligence Unit

“This week, Argentina’s  Unidad de Informaciὀn Financiera de la República Argentina (UIF-AR)  took decisive action to freeze assets belonging to a transnational criminal organization linked to  Hezbollah and its global terror network.  I congratulate the UIF-AR, and its director, Mr. Mariano Federici for this decisive action and I am proud of the role that FinCEN played in our cooperative efforts to thwart terrorist finance. I look forward to continued success resulting from the strong partnership we have established with UIF-AR.  Our joint efforts greatly enhance the global fight against terrorist organizations and transnational criminal enterprises.”

“Clan Barakat, is a criminal organization led by Assad Ahmad Barakat, who is tied to Hezbollah leadership, and has long been known to operate in the Tri-Border area between Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.  Barakat has also been listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. This criminal organization is infamous for its suspected involvement in smuggling, counterfeiting, extortion, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, and terrorist financing. The civilized world depends on strong and durable partnerships between nations to combat terrorist financing and global crime.”