US, Iraq target Islamic State financing emir in Turkey with sanctions

The U.S. says in 2016, Mansur sold crude oil for IS and that he’s been active in 2017 as a "finance emir" despite having moved to Turkey
Tuesday, 29 August 2017 18:43

The United States and Iraq have banished a senior Islamic State (IS) finance official from their financial systems, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Treasury named Salim Mustafa Muhammad al-Mansur, a finance official for the Islamic terrorist group, as a "specially designated global terrorist," a move that freezes any property he might have in the United States and bars Americans from dealing with him.

As of early this year, Mansur had moved to Turkey but was still serving as an Islamic State finance official for Mosul, Iraq, Treasury said. 

The Treasury Department said Salim Mustafa Muhammad al-Mansur has raised money for the cause since 2009, when he was a commander for the al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq that evolved into Islamic State. 

Iraq's government also barred Mansur from its financial system and froze any assets under its jurisdiction, Treasury said. 

In 2014, Mansur helped transfer hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dinars to Islamic State in Mosul, and then helped launder and transfer money for the group and sold oil it extracted from Iraq and Syria, Treasury said.