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Circuit Court Ruling Could Hamper OFAC Freeze Orders
By Colby Adams
printThe U.S. Treasury Department's ability to freeze the funds of suspected terror financiers without a warrant is likely curtailed to emergency circumstances under a court order handed down last week. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the department's sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), did not have the authority to block $20,000 from al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) without court approval in February 2004, chiefly because there were no exceptional circumstances necessitating an immediate freeze of the funds. The ruling, which argued that the seizures violated the charity's Fourth Amendment rights, obtains the stature of...
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