The United States Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has designated a Chinese national, Abdul Haq, as a Specially Designated Terrorist (“SDT”) under the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations.

According to the United States Department of Treasury, Abdul Haq, aka Maimaitiming Maimaiti, is the overall leader and commander of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIP), a.k.a. the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

As ETIP overall leader, Abdul Haq has allegedly raised funds, recruited new members and further developed the terrorist organization. Under Haq, trained terrorists conducted terrorist attacks within China before the Olympics began.

Furthermore, the Department of Treasury claimes that since late 2007, Abdul Haq sent terrorists to the Middle East to raise funds and buy explosive materials for terrorist attacks against Chinese targets outside China. It is also believed that since 2005, Haq has served as a member of al Qaida’s Shura Council.

Section 1 of Executive Order 13224 blocks property and interests under the jurisdiction of the United States of persons listed as an SDT. In addition, any persons owned, controlled or acting on behalf of an SDT with property or interests under the jurisdiction of the United States may have those interests blocked.

Such interests can include bank accounts, real estate, and securities. An appeal to such blocking can be a costly and time consuming matter. As such, effective counsel should be sought out immediately if one believes that it might be blocked or an individual or entity it is involved with may be blocked.

For more information click here: Treasury Targets Leader of Group Tied to Al Qaida.