/ 8 November 2022

US sanctions four people linked to alleged Isis cell in Durban

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A member of the Iraqi forces walks past a mural bearing the logo of the Islamic State (IS) group in a tunnel that was reportedly used as a training centre by the jihadists. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Four Durban-based business people with alleged ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) were added to the United States sanction list on Monday. 

The US department of the treasury’s office of foreign assets control added Nufael Akbar, Yunus Mohamad Akbar, Mohamad Akbar and Umar Akbar to its specially designated nationals and blocked persons list (SDN list). 

According to the US, brothers Nufael and Yunus Mohamad Akbar are senior members of an Isis cell in Durban led by Farhad Hoomer, who was sanctioned by the US in March this year. 

Nufael Akbar is considered a central commanding figure, while his brother Yunus functions as an enforcer and logistical coordinator. 

“Treasury is targeting key individuals in Isis’s network in South Africa, as well as their business assets,” US treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement

According to the US, the identified individuals play “pivotal roles in enabling terrorism and other criminal activities in the [African] region”. 

“The United States, as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat Isis, will continue to partner with South Africa to deny Isis the ability to exploit the country’s economy to raise and move funds to support the growth of Isis affiliates and networks,” said Nelson. 

The alleged Isis cell is believed to provide technical, financial, or material support to the terror group in Southern Africa. 

“Treasury also designated eight companies owned, controlled, or directed by the individuals in this Isis cell. Isis continues to expand its terrorist network across the continent,” reads the statement. 

Four companies — MA Gold Traders, Bailey Holdings, Flexoseal Waterproofing Solutions and HJ Bannister Construction — are owned, controlled or directed by either of the two Akbar brothers. 

Additionally, four companies linked to Hoomer have also been sanctioned. These include Sultans Construction, Ashiq Jewellers, Ineos Trading and Shaahista Shoes.

The US has blocked the individuals’ assets, including all property and interests in property — owned directly or indirectly and 50% or more — in the US or “in the possession or control of US persons”. 

“The prohibitions include the making or receiving of any contribution of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of those persons,” said the statement.

Isis in South Africa

The sanctions follow two weeks after the US government issued a terror alert about the possibility of an attack in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Risk analyst Jasmine Opperman told Mail & Guardian at the time that the South African environment — high crime rates, illicit financial flows and porous borders  — created opportunities for terror groups to expand into Southern Africa.

Although no attack took place, the South African government was criticised for the manner in which it downplayed the warning. 

And the US was criticised because it lacked detail and “a lack of regard for South African sovereignty [and] for the country’s government in general and the country’s intelligence agencies in particular”. 

According to the US, the four latest sanctioned individuals are associates of the alleged Isis cell leader, Hoomer.  

The US claims he helped organise and start the Durban-based Isis cell between 2017 and 2018, which he now leads. 

Hoomer, who is understood to be in Morocco, was arrested in 2018 in connection with a fatal mosque attack in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, and attempted bombings near commercial and retail buildings.