         |
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of
the Press Secretary
(Aachen, Germany)
| For
Immediate Release |
June 2,
2000 |
Fact Sheet
Implementation of the
Foreign
Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
Overview
On
June 1, the Administration imposed sanctions against significant foreign drug
traffickers pursuant to the new Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("the
Kingpin Act"). The President has designated the following individuals as
appropriate for sanctions pursuant to the Kingpin Act: Benjamin Alberto
Arellano-Felix; Ramon Eduardo Arellano-Felix; Jose de Jesus Amezcua-Contreras;
Luis Ignacio Amezcua-Contreras; Rafael Caro-Quintero; Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes;
Chang Chi-Fu; Wei Hsueh-Kang; Noel Timothy Heath; Glenroy Vingrove Matthews;
Abeni 0. Ogungbuyi; and Oluwole A. Ogungbuyi.
Background
In December 1999, the President signed into law the Kingpin Act (21
U.S.C. 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. 1182), the result of legislation originally
introduced by Senators Coverdell and Feinstein. The Kingpin Act establishes a
sanctions program targeting the activities of significant foreign narcotics
traffickers and their organizations on a worldwide basis. It authorizes the
President to impose sanctions against foreign drug kingpins when such sanctions
are appropriate, with the objective of denying such persons, their businesses
and their agents access to the U.S. financial system and to the benefits of
trade and transactions involving U.S. businesses and individuals.
The
Kingpin Act is modeled after the effective sanctions program that the
Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC")
administers against the Colombian drug cartels pursuant to Executive Order
12978. The Colombian program was initiated in October 1995 under the authority
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA").
Implementation
The Kingpin Act provides that, on an
annual basis, the President shall report to specified congressional committees
those "foreign persons [he] determines are appropriate for sanctions" and
detail publicly his intent to impose sanctions upon those foreign persons
pursuant to the Act. The Kingpin Act requires the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the
Director of Central Intelligence to provide the President with the information
necessary to make these determinations.
The Kingpin Act blocks assets
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of designated persons, and
also prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any dealings with those
designated, their front companies, and their agents. The Act also gives the
Treasury authority (to be exercised in consultation with the relevant law
enforcement and intelligence agencies and with the Department of State) to make
derivative designations, which can be used to expand application of the Kingpin
Act sanctions to the associates and organizations of the designated significant
foreign narcotics traffickers.
In addition to civil penalties of up to
$1 million for violations, the Kingpin Act provides for criminal penalties of
up to: 10 years' imprisonment for individuals; $10 million fine for entities;
and 30 years' imprisonment and/or a $5 million fine for officers, directors or
agents of entities who knowingly participate in violations of the economic
sanctions imposed. The Kingpin Act also provides that designated foreign
persons, and immediate family members who have knowingly benefited from their
illicit activity, will be denied visas for entry into the United States. |
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