WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday moved to freeze assets of three businesses linked to accused Mozambican drug kingpin Mohamed Bachir Suleman.
The Treasury move followed U.S. President Barack Obama’s identification of Suleman as a drug kingpin under a U.S. law that clears the way for financial and economic sanctions against foreign drug traffickers.
The Treasury Department said Suleman leads a drug trafficking and money laundering network in Mozambique that is centered on his family-owned business conglomerate Grupo MBS Limitada, which includes the Grupo MBS – Kayum Centre retail store and the Maputo Shopping Centre.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) froze assets the businesses may have under U.S. jurisdiction. The move also prohibits U.S. citizens from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the three businesses.
