The United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has designated alleged Chechen Warlord Doku Omarov as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

According to certain sources, Omarov has personally taken responsibility for terrorist attacks in which dozens of civilians have been killed, and has been implicated in others. In addition to his designation by OFAC, he is also currently wanted in Russia for alleged crimes including acts of terrorism.

In the Spring of 2008, Chechnya’s chief prosecutor initiated a criminal case against Umarov for calling for the overthrow of the Russian Government over the internet. Umarov did have other previous charges against him, but those were suspended in 2005.

Umarov has repeatedly denied links to terrorism and has condemned terrorist tactics in the past. However, in early 2009 he was, by his own admission, personally involved in the re-activation of the notorious Riyadus-Salikhin suicide formation which resulted in a string of suicide attacks killing dozens of people.

On March 31, 2010 Umarov claimed responsibility for personally ordering the Moscow Metro bombings which killed 40 civilians and injured over 60. He also warned that attacks would continue on Russian soil because of perceived repressions of Chechnya by Prime Minister Putin.

As I have stated many times on this blog, challenging such designations is possible and removals do occur. However, challenging an SDN designation can be a long and arduous process. First, counsel must understand and learn every aspect of the designated person’s financial activities and his/her business relationships. Then a discovery process must be undertaken to uncover evidence to support the arguments as to why the designated person should be removed. Once, this is done these arguments should be set forth in a Petition for Review, also known as a Request for Reconsideration. In this Request for Reconsideration, one has the right to ask for a hearing before OFAC to discuss their designation, however, OFAC is not required to provide one. Whether or not OFAC agrees to a hearing, the Request for Reconsideration could take a very long time for them to consider. This process can take anywhere from six months up to several years. Therefore, if you have been designated under an OFAC administered sanctions program, the time to act is now.

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.