Action Taken in Coordination with Partners in U.S. and Mexico
WASHINGTON – Today Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Abdul Karim Conteh Human Smuggling Organization (Karim HSO), a transnational criminal organization (TCO) based in Tijuana, Mexico. Human smuggling is a federal crime in which criminals smuggle noncitizens into the United States, as well as transport and harbor noncitizens already in the country illegally, all in deliberate violation of U.S. immigration laws. Together with Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice components, and other U.S. and foreign partners, OFAC targets these networks to disrupt their finances and illicit profits and ultimately dismantle their operations, which threaten the national security of the United States.
“Today’s action, in close partnership with our U.S. and international partners, disrupts the ability of those seeking to exploit and endanger desperate individuals in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Treasury, as part of the Administration’s effort to address the crisis on our Southwest border, remains committed to using our tools to degrade the ability of groups like the Karim HSO to engage in these illicit operations.”
Today’s action would not have been possible without the cooperation, support, and ongoing collaboration between OFAC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Department of Justice, U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector’s Anti-Smuggling Unit, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego, the HSI Human Smuggling Unit, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. This designation was enabled by key data from Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Additionally, OFAC coordinated this action with the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
DISRUPTING THE ABDUL KARIM CONTEH HUMAN SMUGGLING ORGANIZATION
In violation of U.S. immigration laws, the Tijuana, Mexico-based Karim HSO for years has smuggled migrants into the United States for its own financial gain. In addition to providing migrants with fraudulent documents, members of the Karim HSO leverage the U.S. financial system to receive payments for their illicit smuggling operations. The Karim HSO’s standard methodology is to transport migrants to the United States border and advise them on how to cross the border illegally. The Karim HSO’s reach extends both regionally and globally; for example, the Karim HSO maintains affiliations in, and has coordinated the movement of migrants through, Nicaragua.
Sierra Leonean national Abdul Karim Conteh (Karim), the leader of the human smuggling organization sanctioned today, is responsible for smuggling thousands of migrants from Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, and other jurisdictions into the United States. Karim’s wife, Mexican national Veronica Roblero Pivaral (Veronica), plays a variety of critical roles in the organization, ranging from driving migrants to the U.S. border to receiving payments for smuggling operations.
Images of Karim and Veronica, both of whom have used false identities in their illicit activity
In addition to Karim and Veronica, OFAC today sanctioned Togolese national Pasaman Francis Marin Abbe Pidoukou (Pasaman) and Sierra Leonean national Issa Kamara (Issa). Both members of the Karim HSO, Pasaman and Issa are responsible for facilitating the transport of migrants for the Karim HSO.