Action is the Latest by Treasury in a
Targeted Campaign Against
the Brothers’ Circle, the Camorra and the
Yakuza
WASHINGTON – The U.S.
Department of the Treasury today took action against three transnational
criminal organizations (TCO), the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle.
Today’s designations include four members of the Camorra, one of Europe's
largest criminal organizations; the Inagawa-kai, the third-largest clan within
the Japanese Yakuza criminal network; and an individual providing support to a
key member of the Brothers’ Circle, a large multi-ethnic Eurasian criminal
network. These designations were imposed under Treasury’s authority targeting
transnational organized crime.
President Obama identified the Camorra, the
Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle along with the Zetas, as significant TCOs in
the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal
Organizations) on July 24, 2011, and charged the Treasury Department with
pursuing additional sanctions against its members and supporters to undermine
and interdict their global criminal operations.
Today’s action freezes any assets these
persons may have within the jurisdiction of the United States and generally
prohibits any transactions with them by U.S. persons.
“The individuals designated today are key
members of criminal organizations who engage in serious crimes around the
world,” said David S. Cohen, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence. “Treasury will continue to target additional members and
supporters of these groups, as well as other significant TCOs, as we
systematically expose their criminal operations and protect the U.S. financial
system from their illicit activity.”
The Camorra
The Camorra operates internationally and is
involved in serious criminal activity, such as money laundering, extortion,
alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and
counterfeiting. In 2012 Italian law enforcement conducted multiple operations to
seize Camorra assets, including 800 million euro seized from the Casalesi clan
in July. To date, Treasury has identified five individuals affiliated with the
Camorra under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Michele Zagaria
and Antonio Iovine.
In August 2012 the Treasury Department
designated Michele Zagaria, a leader of the Camorra Casalesi clan, who is
serving a life sentence for conspiracy, murder, extortion, and robbery. The
Camorra members designated today are all members of the immediate family of
Michele Zagaria: his brothers Pasquale Zagaria, Carmine Zagaria, Antonio
Zagaria, and his father Nicola Zagaria. Each of these four individuals is
designated for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Michele
Zagaria and/or the Camorra. All the brothers have led the Caselasi clan at one
point while other siblings were serving jail sentences. All are involved in the
family’s criminal enterprises. This network has been involved in extortion,
kidnapping, money laundering, and bribery.
The Yakuza
The Yakuza, reputedly the world’s largest
criminal organization with over 70,000 members, is involved in serious criminal
activities, including weapons trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, drug
trafficking, fraud, and money laundering. The Treasury Department designated the
Yamaguchi-gumi and the Sumiyoshi-kai, in February and September 2012,
respectively. The Inagawa-kai, designated today, is the third-largest of the
Yakuza organizations, and the Department of the Treasury is targeting it today
for acting for or on behalf of the Yakuza. The top three clans account for
approximately 72.4 percent of the Yakuza membership. To date, Treasury has
identified four individuals and two entities affiliated with the Yakuza under
E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Kenichi Shinoda and Shigeo
Nishiguchi.
Today’s action also imposes sanctions on
Jiro Kiyota, the top Inagawa-kai leader, as well as the Inagawa-kai’s
second-in-command, Kazuo Uchibori, for acting for or on behalf of the
Inagawa-kai. As leaders of Inagawa-kai, Kiyota and Uchibori play key roles in
directing the syndicate’s policies and settling disputes with other Yakuza
syndicates. Under the leadership of Kiyota and Uchibori, the Inagawa-kai has
become increasingly aligned with the Yamaguchi-gumi.
The Brothers’
Circle
The Brothers’ Circle is a multi-ethnic
criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian
criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but
extending to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. To date,
Treasury has identified 15 individuals affiliated with the Brothers’ Circle and
their associates under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent members Gafur
Rakhimov and Zakhariy Kalashov. The Brothers’ Circle serves as a coordinating
body for several national level criminal networks, mediating disputes between
the individual criminal networks and directing global criminal activity.
On December 20, 2012, the Treasury
Department designated Zakhariy Kalashov, a key member of the Brothers’ Circle
and a prominent Eurasian organized crime figure with extensive connections to
criminal groups in Russia and countries throughout Eurasia. His criminal
activities include money laundering, extortion, criminal protection, and drug
trafficking. He is currently incarcerated, serving a nine year sentence for
money laundering in Spain. Marina Kalashova, who has been designated today, is a
key part of Zakhariy Kalashov’s network. Kalashov communicates with Kalashova to
pass messages on his behalf to his organization.
Identifying Information:
Name: Zagaria, Carmine
DOB: 27 May 1968
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy
Name: Zagaria,
Antonio
DOB: 29 June 1962
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy
Name: Zagaria,
Pasquale
DOB: 5 January 1960
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy
Name: Zagaria,
Nicola
DOB: 10 October
1927
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy
Entity: Inagawa-kai
Address: 7-8-4 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo,
Japan
Name: Kiyota, Jiro
AKA: Sin, Byon-Gyu
DOB: 1940
POB: Japan
Name: Uchibori, Kazuo
AKA: Uchibori,
Kazuya
DOB: 1952
POB: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture,
Japan
Name: Goldberg, Marina Samuilovna
AKA: Kalashov,
Marina
AKA: Kalashova, Marina
Address: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates
DOB: 15 September 1979
ID: Passport 514763020
(Russia)
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