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Ruling in Charity Case Presents Hurdles for OFAC Sanctioning, Say Analysts
By Brian Monroe
printA recent court ruling that disallowed the freezing of an Islamic charity's assets could signal a major change in how the United States sanctions suspected terrorist financiers, say former investigators. The Bush administration accused Toledo, OH-based KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. in February 2006 of funneling money to blacklisted terror group Hamas but never prosecuted the organization. That month, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze $1 million of KindHearts' funds. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge James Carr overturned the asset seizure, calling it a violation of the KindHearts' constitutional rights, in part, because...
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