Last week the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated three individuals as Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficking Kingpins (“SDNTK”) under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (“Kingpin Act”). As such, these individuals have had all assets under U.S. jurisdiction blocked and U.S. person are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. The three individuals were:

1. Ali Riza Altun;
2. Zubayir Aydar; and
3. Murat Karayilan.

According to a Department of the Treasury press release, these individuals are thought to constitute the senior leadership of the Kongra-Gel. The Kongra-Gel, also formally known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was named by the President as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act on May 30, 2008.

OFAC believes that Kongra-Gel is active in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Iraq, and for more than two decades has participated in drug trafficking; which they allege is one of the organization’s most lucrative criminal activities. Between the mid-1980s to early 1990’s nearly 300 individuals connected to the Kongra-Gel were arrested on drug trafficking charges, many of them in Germany. OFAC contends that such activity continues to this day; and that Turkish law enforcement has seized a number of drug shipments and drug labs that belonged to the Kongra-Gel.

Would be conspirators of the Kongra-Gel can face penalties for violating the Kingpin Act which range from up to $1.075 million per violation to even more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Corporations violating the Kingpin Act can face criminal fines of up to $10 million.

OFAC continues to aggressively enforce the Kingpin Act and the counter narcotics trafficking sanctions regulations. This enforcement has a truly global reach with designations ranging from Columbia, to Mexico, to Turkey. As I have written recently, it is possible to have these designations overturned. 31 C.F.R. 501.807 provides the procedure in which to do it and recent federal court decisions, such as those in Kindhearts v. Geithner, might give some legal backing to any petition for removal from the SDN list. However, it bears repeating: getting a lawyer who is well versed in the OFAC removal process is absolutely invaluable and may be the only way you can get off the list. The arguments and evidence required for removal are complex and its best to be represented by effective counsel during the process.

The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC litigation. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 at 202-351-6161 or ferrari@ferrari-legal.com.