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US Treasury Tightens Squeeze On Brothers Circle

The U.S. Treasury Department has added three individuals with alleged ties to the crime group Brothers' Circle to a blacklist which bans American citizens and companies from conducting any business with them according to a press release:  "today's action targets Zakhariy Kalashov for acting for or on behalf of, or providing material support to, the Brothers' Circle, as well as Almanbet Anapiyaev and Adilet Kasenov, for acting for or on behalf of, or providing material support to, Kamychbek Kolbayev."  The Treasury Department previously placed Kolbayev on its black list.

According to the press release the Brothers' Circle "is a criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups that are largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union, but also operate in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America," and it "serves as a coordinating body for several criminal networks, mediates disputes between the individual criminal networks, and directs member criminal activity globally."

The Treasury Department through its Office of Foreign Assets Control was granted the authority to take enforcement action against designated transnational crime groups under Executive Order 13581 issued by President Obama on July 24, 2011 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and over the last eighteen months has targeted Eurasian crime group Brothers' Circle, the Yakuza from Japan, the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia in Italy, Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas and Central America's Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13.

Further reading that may be of interest:

A Call For U.S. Treasury Department To Designate Gambino Crime Family As A Transnational Criminal Organization Under Executive Order 13581

Treasury Dep't Targets Transnational Crime

The U.S. Treasury Department has put two international crime groups -- the Brothers’ Circle in Eurasia and the Yakuza in Japan -- on its naughty list which freezes their American assets and prohibits Americans from doing business with them as reported by C.M. Matthews for The Wall Street Journal.

The Treasury Department move specifically targets nine individuals allegedly tied to the two crime organizations, and most notable among them are "Kenichi Shinoda, the [reputed] number one boss at the helm of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s most prominent 'yakuza' family, and his [reputed] number two Kiyoshi Takayama" as reported by Danielle Demetriou for The Telegraph.

Of course, in a seeming case of trade protectionism, New York's five Mafia families and their members and associates are not included on the black list, and are free to park all their assets and conduct as much business as they want in the U.S. legitimate economy.