Another Anti-Terror List Impacting Businesses, Customers

HangingChad writes "MSNBC is running a story about yet another government database designed to thwart terrorists and drug dealers that is having impact on people with similar names. Like a no-fly list for businesses, the Office of Foreign Asset Control's list of 'specially designated nationals' has been used in the past by banks and other financial institutions to block financial transactions of drug dealers and other criminals. Use of the list was expanded after 9-11 and now includes almost any financial transaction. Moreover, there is no minimum amount of money attached to penalties for selling to someone on the list: selling a sandwich to a 'specially designated national' can have a fine for up to '$10 million and 10 to 30 years in prison.' The article goes on: 'Businesses have used it to screen applicants for home and car loans, apartments and even exercise equipment, according to interviews and a report by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay area to be issued today.'"

The list

[Harmonious Botch]

The list is at: http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sd n/sdnlist.txt [ustreas.gov]

Re:Once again, I'm glad to have an English surname

[faloi]

Even an English surname won't save you. There are lots of names on the list, including Congresspeople. The odd thing is that, apparently, a spending bill was passed to clear up the list [govexec.com], wonder if that'll help at all.

SDN isn't new.

[Anonymous Coward]

The use of this list in war ("War on Terror") isn't new. Regardless of the merits of this war, the gem below is from http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/faq/ answer.shtml [treas.gov].

How long has OFAC been around?

The Treasury Department has a long history of dealing with sanctions. Dating back prior to the War of 1812, Secretary of the Treasury Gallatin administered sanctions imposed against Great Britain for the harassment of American sailors. During the Civil War, Congress approved a law which prohibited transactions with the Confederacy, called for the forfeiture of goods involved in such transactions, and provided a licensing regime under rules and regulations administered by Treasury.

OFAC is the successor to the Office of Foreign Funds Control (the ``FFC''), which was established at the advent of World War II following the German invasion of Norway in 1940. The FFC program was administered by the Secretary of the Treasury throughout the war. The FFC's initial purpose was to prevent Nazi use of the occupied countries' holdings of foreign exchange and securities and to prevent forced repatriation of funds belonging to nationals of those countries. These controls were later extended to protect assets of other invaded countries. After the United States formally entered World War II, the FFC played a leading role in economic warfare against the Axis powers by blocking enemy assets and prohibiting foreign trade and financial transactions.

OFAC itself was formally created in December 1950, following the entry of China into the Korean War, when President Truman declared a national emergency and blocked all Chinese and North Korean assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction. [05-02-06]

Full disclosure: I make money by providing software to automatically manage the SDN list for companies that do international trade. You'd be surprised how many people qualify for "hits" against this list and how much manual work needs to be done to clear them.

Re:Forgetting a fact

[Billosaur]

Also, nobody has ever been jailed for selling a fucking sandwich to the wrong guy. That's just FUD.

True, but people have been arrested for less [consumerist.com].

The list is so flawed it's funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, not funny to the people who are caught by it.

The "current" list has a modification date of "3/7/2007", but it still has Saddam Hussein on the list. Yes, that Saddam Hussein. The one who was hung last year. He is listed as being president of Iraq since 1979.

So, if Saddam Hussein comes out of the grave as an undead zombie and visits the United States he will need to use a new alias if he wants to get a mortgage.

That makes me feel much safer.

Re:Once again, I'm glad to have an English surname

[Hijacked Public]

And if he pays cash for a car and someone hits him he won't be able to collect from either insurance company. According to my insurance excec girlfriend they have to scan the list (or some similar list) for their payee's name before sending out checks.

Re:Once again, I'm glad to have an English surname

[morgan_greywolf]

Most, if not all of the names on the list [treas.gov] are non-English surnames. And I couldn't find a single U.S. Congresscritter on the list, though there were plenty of Congress/MPs/Presidents/Dictators/etc. from other countries, most of them in Bush's 'Axis of Evil'.

Re:Once again, I'm glad to have an English surname

[arth1]

Most, if not all of the names on the list [treas.gov] are non-English surnames.

Like Charles Taylor, Agnes Taylor, Karen Matthew, Charles Bright and Donovan Marshall, you mean?

Never mind that there's plenty of citizens born and raised in this country that have names like Abu Ahmed, Shu Chen and Antonio Romero (all of which are on the list) -- are they less worthy of protection than Joe Smith?

Also worth noting is that many of the names on the list are not linked to terrorism in any way, but are either affiliated with Cuba or are opponents (even peaceful opponents) of Israel.

On a lighter note, I see that they have banned TELNET and BBS. I presume SSH and USENET are still OK.

Regards,
--
*Art

Re:The list is so flawed it's funny

[arth1]

And the ultimate irony here is that Saddam Hussein never had any connection to terrorism.

He used to have strong links to the CIA.

Regards,
--
*Art