The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a office inside the U.S. Treasury Department that runs and enforces U.S. economic and trade sanctions. It targets foreign governments, groups, and individuals involved in activities like terrorism, narcotics trafficking, or weapons proliferation by blocking their assets under U.S. jurisdiction and restricting most financial and trade dealings with them, in order to advance U.S. foreign‑policy and national‑security goals.
Executive Order 13224, issued after the 9/11 attacks, lets the U.S. government target the finances of people and groups that commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism. Under it, the government can: (1) identify such persons and organizations; (2) block (freeze) any of their property and interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction; and (3) bar U.S. persons from most transactions with them, with civil and criminal penalties for violations. It also delegates to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to make and update these terrorism‑related designations.
A “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) is an individual or group formally named under Executive Order 13224 as being involved in terrorism or supporting it. SDGTs are labeled on Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list with the tag [SDGT]. Legal effects include: (1) all property and interests in property of the SDGT that are in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked (frozen); (2) U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them (for example, providing funds, goods, or services) unless OFAC issues a license; and (3) violations can result in significant civil or criminal penalties, and foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate such transactions risk secondary sanctions or loss of access to the U.S. financial system.
Being designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1189) means the U.S. Secretary of State has formally found that an entity (1) is a foreign organization; (2) engages in “terrorist activity” or “terrorism,” or has the capability and intent to do so; and (3) that activity or terrorism threatens the security of U.S. nationals or the national security of the United States. Key legal effects include: (a) it is a federal crime for persons in the U.S. or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to the FTO (18 U.S.C. § 2339B); (b) members and representatives can be denied U.S. visas or removed from the United States; and (c) U.S. financial institutions must block funds of the organization and report them to the government.
Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh is the Secretary General (top leader) of the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, also known as al‑Jamaa al‑Islamiyah. The U.S. State Department designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, stating that under his leadership the group reactivated its al‑Fajr Forces after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and launched rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel in coordination with Hizballah and Hamas, operated a covert military training camp with Hamas militants, and pushed the organization toward a closer military and political alignment with the Hizballah‑Hamas axis.
These designations tightly restrict dealings with the listed Muslim Brotherhood branches and leaders, but U.S. sanctions rules also contain broad humanitarian exceptions:
• For people and ordinary businesses: Routine personal remittances or trade with Egypt, Jordan, or Lebanon are not automatically banned. What is prohibited is doing business with, or providing funds, goods, or services to, the specifically designated organizations or individuals (or entities they own 50% or more of) unless authorized by OFAC.
• For charities and aid groups: Working with or through the designated organizations (for example, using them as implementing partners or channeling money to them) would generally be prohibited and could trigger civil or criminal liability. However, OFAC has created cross‑program “humanitarian exceptions” and general licenses that allow many activities by the UN, NGOs, and others related to food, medicine, disaster relief, and basic civilian needs, even in heavily sanctioned environments, provided no funds or benefits are knowingly provided to designated terrorists.
• In practice: Legitimate humanitarian organizations can often continue operations in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, or Gaza if they structure programs and payment routes to avoid any direct or indirect support to the listed Muslim Brotherhood chapters, and they may seek specific licenses from OFAC if needed.
The precise impact therefore depends on whether a transaction involves a listed entity or person, not simply the country where it occurs.
An individual or organization on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list can ask to be removed (“delisted”) by filing a written petition with OFAC. Under 31 C.F.R. § 501.807, the person (or their lawyer) must send OFAC a request for reconsideration explaining why the listing is wrong or should be lifted (for example, mistaken identity, changed behavior, or that the designation was based on incorrect facts) and providing supporting documents. OFAC then reviews the petition, may ask for more information, and decides whether to keep, modify, or remove the designation. Instructions and contact details are provided on OFAC’s “Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List” webpage, and OFAC FAQ 897 confirms that this process is available for any OFAC sanctions list, including the SDN list.