DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Rumours continue to circulate that the US will shortly designate Eritrea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, due to its continued support of Al-Qaeda linked militants in the civil war in Somalia. Should this occur, there will be a termination of all non-emergency American aid to that nation, financial sanctions will be imposed, and third parties, including financial institutions, will face fines & penalties for conducting transactions with Eritrean entities. Best to check your clients' involvement early on, lest you draw a very public OFAC fine, due to poor advance planning.
Eritrea's logistical and financial support for Al-Shabaab a/k/a/ The Youth [UID 610115], the former youth wing, and now active military arm, of the Union of Islamic Courts [UID 535293], has drawn strong American criticism, which will probably now manifest itself in a state sponsor of terrorism label.
If you want to know the probable consequences of such a designation, just look at the present restrictions upon the other nations that currently have such status under US law:
- The Republic of Cuba
- The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) a/k/a North Korea
- The Islamic Republic of Iran
- Syrian Arab Republic
- Republic of the Sudan
Are your clients trading with Eritrea? As the country was a former British Protectorate and Italian colony, compliance officers at UK and Italian financial institutions will want to pay particular attention to this question.
World-Check will be monitoring the situation, and further information will be published as further developments occur. Any OFAC pronouncement will result in an immediate article in real-time. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Eritrea is supplying Radicals in Somalia, World-Check 28 July, 2006; Alert on possible Sanctions against Eritrea, World-Check 27 July, 2007.
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.



