On Occasion of International Anticorruption Day and International Human Rights Day

On the occasion of International Anticorruption Day and International Human Rights Day, the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions designations and visa restrictions on perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse. Below is a summary of these actions taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818 and Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 (Div. G, P.L. 116-94), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 (Div. A, P.L. 116-159). A visual representation of designations under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program can be found here.

Kyrgyz Republic

Raimbek Matraimov

• Raimbek Matraimov, a former Deputy of the Kyrgyz Customs Service, was involved in a customs scheme in which at least USD 700 million was laundered from the Kyrgyz Republic. Matraimov is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
• Additionally, the Department of State is designating Matraimov under Section 7031(c) due to his involvement in significant corruptionwhile acting in his official capacity. Under Section 7031(c), when the Secretary of State has credible information of foreign government officials' involvement, directly or indirectly, in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. The law also requires the Secretary of State to either publicly or privately designate officials and their immediate family members. In addition to Matraimov, the Department is designating his spouse, Uulkan Turgunova.

Liberia

Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman

• Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman, a lawyer, Liberian Senator, and Chair of the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee, offered bribes to multiple judges associated with his trial for a 2010 bribery scheme, and he had an undisclosed conflict of interest with the judge who ultimately returned a not guilty verdict in July 2019. Sherman has routinely paid judges to decide cases in his favor, and he has allegedly facilitated payments to Liberian politicians to support impeachment of a judge who has ruled against him. In the 2010 scheme that led to this trial, Sherman was hired by a British mining company in an effort to obtain one of Liberia's last remaining mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession. Sherman advised the company that, in order to obtain the contract, they first had to get Liberia's procurement and concessions law changed by bribing senior officials. In 2016, Sherman was indicted by the Liberian government, along with several other government officials, for their involvement in the USD 950,000 bribery scheme. In 2019, the presiding judge acquitted all individuals accused of being involved in the bribery scheme. Sherman's acts of bribery demonstrate a larger pattern of behavior to exercise influence over the Liberian judiciary and the Ministry of Justice.
• Sherman is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.

People's Republic of China

Wan Kuok Koi

• Wan Kuok Koi, also commonly known as Broken Tooth, is a leader of the 14K Triad, one of the largest Chinese organized criminal organizations in the world that engages in drug trafficking, illegal gambling, racketeering, human trafficking, and a range of other criminal activities. In addition to bribery, corruption, and graft, the 14K Triad has engaged in similar illicit activities in Palau. Koi is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also designated three entities that are owned or controlled byBroken Tooth:
  • World Hongmen History and Culture Association, based in Cambodia and established in 2018 by Broken Tooth;
  • Dongmei Group, based in Hong Kong; and,
  • Palau China Hung-Mun Cultural Association, based in Palau.

Huang Yuanxiong

• Huang Yuanxiong is the Chief of the Xiamen Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Wucun Police Station, Fujian province, China. Huang was involved in gross violations of human rights in Xiamen, amounting to particularly severe violations of religious freedom, in connection with the detention and interrogation of Falun Gong practitioners simply for practicing their beliefs. The Department of State publicly designated Huang under Section 7031(c) for his involvement in gross violations of human rights. In addition to Huang, the Department also designated his spouse.

Haiti

Jimmy Cherizier

• While serving as a Haitian National Police (HNP) officer, Jimmy Cherizier planned and participated in the November 2018 La Saline attack in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Cherizier is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.

Fednel Monchery

• Fednel Monchery was the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Authorities, and in this role, participated in the planning of La Saline. Monchery is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is foreign person who is responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.

Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan

• Joseph Pierre Richard Duplan, who was President Jovenel Moïse's Departmental Delegate at the time of La Saline, is accused of being the "intellectual architect" of La Saline and was seen discussing the attack with armed gang members in the La Saline neighborhood during the violence. Duplan is designated under E.O. 13818 for beinga foreign person who is responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.

El Salvador

José Antonio Almendáriz Rivas

• José Antonio Almendáriz Rivas was a Lieutenant Colonel who commanded the Second Infantry Brigade of the Salvadoran armed forces, which included the Fourth Company BIC PIPIL, during the El Salvador civil war. Almendáriz Rivas was involved in gross violations of human rights, by operation of command responsibility, for an extrajudicial killing committed by the Fourth Company. The Department of State publicly designated Almendáriz Rivas under Section 7031(c), as well as his immediate family members.

Jamaica

Devon Orlando Bernard

• Devon Orlando Bernard was a police officer in the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Crime Management Unit. Bernard was involved in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, as a member of the unit. The Department of State publicly designated Bernard under Section 7031(c), as well as his immediate family members.
• In addition, five members of Bernard's unit were publicly designated under Section 7031(c) for their involvement in the extrajudicial killings, as well as their immediate family members.
  • Reneto DeCordiva Adams
  • Patrick Anthony Coke
  • Shayne St Aubyn Lyons
  • Leford Gordon
  • Roderick Anthony Collier

Yemen: Houthi Militia

Sultan Zabin

• As the current Director of the Sana'a Houthi Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Sultan Zabin and his CID officers have arrested, detained, and tortured women under the pretense of a policy designed to curb prostitution and organized crime. Zabin is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse. Zabin is concurrently designated pursuant to E.O. 13611 for engaging in activities, directly or indirectly, that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen.

Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani

• As Houthi Deputy Minister of the Interior, Abdul Hakim al-Khaiwani was responsible for many detention facilities and security forces, including the Sana'a CID. Khaiwani is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is leader or official of an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to his tenure.

Abdul Rahab Jarfan

• Abdul Rahab Jarfan is the former Head of the Houthi National Security Bureau (NSB). Under Jarfan, the NSB systematically engaged in torture andabusive detention of Yemeni citizens, predominantly those that oppose the Houthi militia. Jarfan is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is leader or official of an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse during his tenure.

Motlaq Amer Al-Marrani

• During his tenure as the former Deputy Director of the Houthi NSB, Motlaq Amer al-Marrani's oversaw detainees of the NSB, who were reportedly subjected to torture and other mistreatment by members of the NSB while detained. Marrani is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is leader or official of an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse during his tenure.

Qadir Al-Shami

• Qader al-Shami is the former Director of the Houthi Political Security Office (PSO). Since late 2014, the Houthi PSO has been responsible for the regular practice of detention and torture of prisoners, including children.Shami is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is leader or official of an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to his tenure.

Russia

Ramzan Kadyrov

• Ramzan Kadyrov is the Head of the Chechen Republic and is designated under E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is the leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse. Kadyrov and the forces he commands, commonly known as the Kadyrovtsy, are implicated in the murder of Boris Nemtsov, an opposition politician to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other serious violations of human rights. On December 20, 2017, OFAC designated Kadyrov pursuant to the Russia Magnitsky Act for being responsible for extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by officials of the Government of the Russian Federation, or to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly, and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections, in the Russian Federation. Following his previous designation, the Kadyrovtsy, under the guidance of Kadyrov, have engaged in other egregious abuses, to include kidnapping, torturing, and killing members of the LGBT population in the Chechen Republic.
• Kadyrov was previously designated under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 on June 20, 2020, for his involvement in gross violations of human rights in the Chechen Republic, namely torture and extrajudicial killings. Kadyrov was publicly designated in addition to his spouse and two children.
• In addition to Kadyrov, OFAC is designating the following six companies registered in Russia that continue to provide Kadyrov significant profit:
  • Absolute Championship Akhmat for being owned or controlled by Kadyrov.
  • Akhmat MMA for being owned or controlled by Kadyrov.
  • FC Akhmat Grozny for being owned or controlled by Kadyrov.
  • Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation for being owned or controlled by Kadyrov.
  • Megastroyinvest, OOO for being owned or controlled by the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation.
  • Chechen Mineral Waters Ltd. for being owned or controlled by the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation.
• OFAC is also designating five individuals who are prominent members in Kadyrov's network:
  • Vakhit Usmayev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
  • Timur Dugazaev, a representative of Kadyrov in Europe, has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
  • Ziyad Sabsabi, a representative of Kadyrov, has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
  • Daniil Vasilievich Martynov, a personal security advisor for Kadyrov, has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kadyrov.
  • Satish Seemar, a horse trainer for Kadyrov, has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, Kadyrov.