Kenyan woman blacklisted by US Treasury over ISIS funding

​A woman, who is facing several cases linked to terrorism-related activities in the country, has been listed by the United States Government as one of the seven individuals who finance the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

​The US Treasury department slapped sanctions against Ms Halima Adan Ali, who it described as an Islamic State facilitator based in Kenya with establishments of financial facilitation network that operated in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Eastern Africa.

This means that the US has blocked any property or financial interests Ms Halima may be holding in the US or through its citizens.
“Halima Adan Ali (Halima) was designated for assisting in, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to, or in support of, ISIS,” read a statement by the department.
The department revealed that Ms Halima served as an extremist recruiter and facilitator for Al-Shabaab.
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According to the US government, Ms Halima in the last two years received large sums of money to the tune of Sh 15 million from various countries in the world.
The money was sent to her through the Hawala systems which is a method of transferring money without any money actually moving.

FUNDING TERROR

“Treasury is dedicated to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS by cutting off all remaining sources of their terror funding around the globe, “Sigal Mandelker, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
According to the US government, Ms Halima in 2014 planned to travel from East Africa to Syria which is the Isis stronghold but the plan was cut short after she was arrested.
Ms Halima was arrested on April 9, 2018 by officers attached to the Anti-terrorism police unit as she was en-route to Somalia.
However, she was later released after Mr Waleed’s relative who lives in Syria secured her release from prison on bond and that marked her long working relationship with Isis.
According to Kenya police records, Ms Halima has found herself on the wrong side of the law and in all cases it’s her roles and links to terrorism.
On April 1, 2015, Ms Halima was arrested after she was suspected of facilitating the travel of three Kenyan women to Somalia where they were to join Al-shabaab.
The trio, identified as Ms Khadijah Abubakar Ahmed and Mariam Said from Kenya and Ms Umukheir a Tanzanian were arrested in Elwak en-route to Somalia and were said to be members of Ghuraba, a social media group that is used in recruiting, radicalizing and facilitating persons to travel to Somalia and join terror groups.

ARRESTED

She could later tell the court that she was arrested and held at the Kilimani Police Station before she was finally bundled in a pro-box and taken to Mombasa where she was charged.
The police at the time also accused her of collecting videos and articles for commission of terror acts through her phone.
Her co-listed are members of the Rawi Financial network, which is the main Islamic State financial facilitation group globally. They include five Iraq Nationals and a Turkey national.
They include Mushtaq Talib Zughayr al-Rawi, who leads the group, Walid Talib Zughayr al-Rawi, Muhannad Mushtaq Talib Zughayr al-Rawi, Muhammad Abd-al-Qadir Mutni Assaf al-Rawi, Umar Talib Zughayr al-Rawi and Abd-al-Rahman ‘Ali Husayn al-Ahmad al-Rawi.
This is not the first time a Kenyan has been listed by the US as being part of those who fund terrorism globally. In September 2018 sanctions were imposed on Waleed Ahmaed Zein.
It described him as “a dangerous terrorist who established an intricate global network of financial facilitators for Isis, using intermediaries to evade police and fund their deadly ambitions.”
US said that he used to deposit large sums in a personal account claiming that the money came from an automobile spare parts company owned by his father.

​By Nyaboga Kiage / Nation Kenya

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