US, Iraq sanction Mosul finance emir believed to be in Turkey
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The United States has economically sanctioned the ISIS finance emir for Mosul Salim Mustafa Muhammed Al-Mansur, an Iraqi national, who is now believed to be in Turkey.
“Mansur was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for acting for or on behalf of ISIS,” reads a US Treasury Department statement.
Mansur holds Iraqi nationality and was born in 1959. He also goes by the aliases Saleem Al-Ifri and Hajji Slaim Al-Shaklar, according to the US. Friday’s designation added that his residences have included the Turkish cities of Mersin, Istanbul and Adana.
The statement claimed that Mansur had previously been involved with al-Qaeda as late as 2009, when he was “commander involved in fundraising activities to support terrorism in Iraq.”
With the rise of ISIS in 2014, the Treasury Department believes Mansur moved Iraqi dinars into Mosul, then in 2015 he “laundered and transferred money on behalf of ISIS.”
It added: “As of mid-2016, he was responsible for selling crude oil that ISIS extracted from oil fields in Iraq and Syria. As of early 2017, Mansur was an ISIS finance emir for Mosul who had moved to Turkey.”
"Treasury continues to work in close collaboration with the Government of Iraq to dismantle ISIS financial networks both inside and outside of ISIS-controlled territory," said OFAC Director John E. Smith. "This action underscores the United States' resolve to work with international partners to further restrict ISIS's ability to abuse the U.S. and Iraqi financial systems."
Because of the designation all property and interests in property of Mansur subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him.
Mosul was recaptured from ISIS on July 10 by Iraqi security forces, supported by Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary.