Treasury sanctions Mozambican’s 3 businesses after he is designated as a drug trafficker

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Treasury sanctions 3 businesses in Mozambique

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned three businesses allegedly connected to a Mozambique man whose name was added by the Obama administration to a list of international drug kingpins.

President Barack Obama placed Mohamed Bachir Suleman on the government’s list of so-called specially designated narcotics traffickers.

The move by law triggered Treasury’s sanctions against three businesses said to be linked to Suleman — Grupo MBS Limitada, Grupo MBS-Kayum Centre and Maputo Shopping Centre. Any assets the businesses may have under U.S. jurisdiction are now frozen and U.S. citizens are barred from any financial or commercial dealings with them.

The Treasury Department said Suleman is a large-scale drug trafficker in Mozambique and his network contributes to the growing narcotics trade and related money laundering across southern Africa.

Suleman’s network in Mozambique is centered on his family-owned business conglomerate Grupo MBS Limitada, which includes a retail store named Grupo MBSKayum Centre and the Maputo Shopping Centre, according to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Mozambique is increasingly becoming a transit country for the shipment of drugs and chemicals used to make them, according to the State Department, which has cited hashish, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methaqualone — commonly known as Quaaludes or mandrax — mostly destined for Europe and South Africa. A combination of porous borders, poorly trained and equipped law enforcement agencies, and government corruption allow drug traffickers to operate freely in Mozambique, the State Department says.

The 1999 Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act targets major foreign drug traffickers, their organizations and associates who act on their behalf. The law prohibits all trade and transactions between designated traffickers and U.S. companies and individuals, and freezes their assets within U.S. jurisdictions. The so-called Kingpin Act doesn’t target the countries in which the designated individuals and companies operate or the countries’ governments.

Since naming the first significant foreign drug traffickers under the law in June 2000, U.S. presidents have identified a total of 87 alleged drug kingpins, including Suleman. Treasury has designated about 700 individuals and entities said to be linked to the kingpins. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil fines of as much as $1.1 million per violation to criminal penalties of up to 30 years in prison, and fines of up to $5 million for individuals and $10 million for corporations.