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24/03/2004
Chancellor orders freezing of new Hamas leader's assets
British banks have been ordered to freeze the assets of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi – the man who took over as leader of the Islamic resistance group Hamas following Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Monday.
Gordon Brown reportedly made the decision today after a series of statements from the Hamas leadership called for bloody vengeance on Israelis for the killing of its founder and spiritual leader.
Sheikh Yassin was killed by missile strike in the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, shortly after he left dawn prayers. It has been reported today that Hamas has sanctioned the killing of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.
Four other Hamas members – Musa Abu Marzouk, Imad Khalil Al-Alami, Usama Hamdan, and Khalid Mishaal – will also have their assets frozen.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "This action has been taken because the Treasury have reasonable grounds for suspecting that four of the individuals are, or may be, persons who facilitate or participate in the commission of acts of terrorism and one, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, is or may be a person who commits, facilitates or participates in such acts."
The Chancellor also instructed the Bank of England to add to its list of individuals and terrorist groups subject to an asset freeze the names 'Kadek' and 'Kongra-Gel' as aliases of the terrorist Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which is already subject to such a freeze.
This is the latest move by the treasury to frustrate the funding efforts of suspected terrorists and related groups.
Both before and after September 11, 2001 the UK froze a total of around £70 million of terrorist assets. The bulk of these assets have now been unfrozen, and made available to the legitimate government in Afghanistan.
At present, 38 bank accounts are currently frozen in UK institutions under Treasury powers to implement UN measures against terrorist financing.
The UK has so far funded £3.65 million of counter-terrorist training abroad. UK financial investigators continue to work closely with their counterparts in the United States, Europe and in other countries.
Chancellor Gordon Brown said: "The UK has been a leading country in implementing UN freezes of terrorist assets and taking appropriate domestic action."
(gmcg)
Gordon Brown reportedly made the decision today after a series of statements from the Hamas leadership called for bloody vengeance on Israelis for the killing of its founder and spiritual leader.
Sheikh Yassin was killed by missile strike in the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, shortly after he left dawn prayers. It has been reported today that Hamas has sanctioned the killing of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.
Four other Hamas members – Musa Abu Marzouk, Imad Khalil Al-Alami, Usama Hamdan, and Khalid Mishaal – will also have their assets frozen.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "This action has been taken because the Treasury have reasonable grounds for suspecting that four of the individuals are, or may be, persons who facilitate or participate in the commission of acts of terrorism and one, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, is or may be a person who commits, facilitates or participates in such acts."
The Chancellor also instructed the Bank of England to add to its list of individuals and terrorist groups subject to an asset freeze the names 'Kadek' and 'Kongra-Gel' as aliases of the terrorist Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which is already subject to such a freeze.
This is the latest move by the treasury to frustrate the funding efforts of suspected terrorists and related groups.
Both before and after September 11, 2001 the UK froze a total of around £70 million of terrorist assets. The bulk of these assets have now been unfrozen, and made available to the legitimate government in Afghanistan.
At present, 38 bank accounts are currently frozen in UK institutions under Treasury powers to implement UN measures against terrorist financing.
The UK has so far funded £3.65 million of counter-terrorist training abroad. UK financial investigators continue to work closely with their counterparts in the United States, Europe and in other countries.
Chancellor Gordon Brown said: "The UK has been a leading country in implementing UN freezes of terrorist assets and taking appropriate domestic action."
(gmcg)
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