WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Obama administration on Monday lobbed economic sanctions against some of the world's most feared criminal organizations as part of an effort to economically cripple groups that pose a threat to the U.S.
President Barack Obama's executive order blocks U.S. property belonging to four major criminal organizations spanning nearly every continent and anyone who conspires with them. It is part of a larger strategy to disrupt criminal activity around the world that includes drug trafficking, counterfeit goods and terrorism.
The strategy will give the Treasury Department new tools to go after criminal organizations, said David Cohen, Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The technological advancement of criminal organizations is "a dark side of globalization," Cohen said, but their embedment in the economic system makes them perfect targets for economic sanctions.
The four groups targeted have a long history of illicit, and often violent activity. The criminal organizations targeted are the Brother's Circle, the Camorra, the Yakuza and Los Zetas.
The Brother's Circle in Eurasia is based in former-Soviet Union countries, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and spreads an ideology of criminal activity and directs crimes throughout the world.
The Camorra, an Italian crime group, sells counterfeit goods, including clothes and software, and is involved in narcotics trafficking. The counterfeit trade is estimated to earn $25 billion annually for the group in U.S. and Europe.
The Yakuza in Japan has more than 80,000 members and profits particularly from methamphetamine trade in Japan, but it also participates in sex crimes and trafficking. Their activity isn't isolated to Japan. The group also operates in other Asian countries, Europe and the Americas.
In Mexico, a group with thousands of members called Los Zetas primarily traffics drugs into the U.S. and has been indicted multiple times in U.S. federal courts. The group is responsible for mass murders in Mexico and Guatemala, including an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement special agent.
The strategy also includes a series of legislative proposals which would give federal agencies more power to respond to criminal threats throughout the world and will enhance the Department of Justice's ability to bring cases against criminal organizations, said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The Interagency Policy Committee on Illicit Drugs and Transnational Criminal Threats will oversee the initiative, which also aims to bring antiquated policing efforts into the 21st century to keep pace with more advanced criminal organizations.
President Barack Obama's executive order blocks U.S. property belonging to four major criminal organizations spanning nearly every continent and anyone who conspires with them. It is part of a larger strategy to disrupt criminal activity around the world that includes drug trafficking, counterfeit goods and terrorism.
The strategy will give the Treasury Department new tools to go after criminal organizations, said David Cohen, Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The technological advancement of criminal organizations is "a dark side of globalization," Cohen said, but their embedment in the economic system makes them perfect targets for economic sanctions.
The four groups targeted have a long history of illicit, and often violent activity. The criminal organizations targeted are the Brother's Circle, the Camorra, the Yakuza and Los Zetas.
The Brother's Circle in Eurasia is based in former-Soviet Union countries, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and spreads an ideology of criminal activity and directs crimes throughout the world.
The Camorra, an Italian crime group, sells counterfeit goods, including clothes and software, and is involved in narcotics trafficking. The counterfeit trade is estimated to earn $25 billion annually for the group in U.S. and Europe.
The Yakuza in Japan has more than 80,000 members and profits particularly from methamphetamine trade in Japan, but it also participates in sex crimes and trafficking. Their activity isn't isolated to Japan. The group also operates in other Asian countries, Europe and the Americas.
In Mexico, a group with thousands of members called Los Zetas primarily traffics drugs into the U.S. and has been indicted multiple times in U.S. federal courts. The group is responsible for mass murders in Mexico and Guatemala, including an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement special agent.
The strategy also includes a series of legislative proposals which would give federal agencies more power to respond to criminal threats throughout the world and will enhance the Department of Justice's ability to bring cases against criminal organizations, said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The Interagency Policy Committee on Illicit Drugs and Transnational Criminal Threats will oversee the initiative, which also aims to bring antiquated policing efforts into the 21st century to keep pace with more advanced criminal organizations.
