U.S. Department of the Treasury

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three individuals for their role in Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a terrorist group in Southeast Asia with links to al Qaida.

JI, as a terrorist franchise of al Qaida, has demonstrated its wanton desire to kill innocent civilians of every race, religion and creed and continues to pose a real threat to security in Southeast Asia. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the region and the international community to identify and isolate key members of JI, like those we have designated today, said Juan Zarate, Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.

The Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) utilizes its financial tools, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) designation powers, to safeguard the financial system through the financial isolation of rogue actors.

Abu Rusdan, Zulkarnaen and Joko Pitono were designated under Executive Order 13224, President Bush's Order aimed at freezing the assets of terrorists and their support networks. The U.S. is submitting the individuals to the United Nations 1267 Committee, which will consider adding them to the consolidated list of terrorists tied to al Qaida, UBL and the Taliban.

JI's stated goal is to create an Islamic state comprised of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. Members of JI have been trained, funded and directed by al Qaida leadership to pursue al Qaida's agenda across the region.

The U.S. Government possesses credible evidence that these individuals are key officials in JI and support and/or commit acts of terrorism on behalf of JI and JI's support for al Qaida. Identifying Information

ABU RUSDAN

AKAs: Abu Thoriq
Rusdjan
Rusjan
Rusydan
Thoriquddin
Thoriquiddin
Thoriquidin
Toriquddin

DOB: August 16, 1960
POB: Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia

Information available to the U.S. Government shows Abu Rusdan replaced Abu Bakar Bashir as the Emir or leader of JI after Bashir's arrest. As Emir, Rusdan chaired JI leadership meetings and organized the group's affairs.

In February 2004, Rusdan was convicted by an Indonesian court of helping hide Bali bomber Huda bin Abdul Haq Aka Mukhlas (SDGT) and was sentenced to three and a half years in jail.

According to information available to the U.S. Government, Zulkarnaen is a member of the JI central command and the head of its military section. As military commander, Zulkarnaen is authorized to launch terrorist attacks and is responsible for intelligence operations and military training. Zulkarnaen was one of the first JI members to go to Afghanistan and reportedly spent a decade there training other JI members.

Information available to the U.S. Government shows that Joko Pitono is a top bomb-maker for JI. Notably, Pitono was involved in making bombs for the Christmas Eve 2000 attacks on churches in Indonesia, which killed 19 people and injured approximately 120. He was also involved in the August 2000 bombing of the Philippine ambassador's house in Jakarta, which killed two people and seriously injured the Philippine ambassador.

Prior to the Bali bombings of 2002, a meeting to plan the attack was held at Pitono's house in Solo, Indonesia. Pitono is also suspected of being involved in the J.W. Marriott bombing in August 2003. Along with JI's Azahari bin Husin (SDGT), Noordin Mohamed Top (SDGT) and Zulkarnaen, Pitono is one of the most wanted men in Southeast Asia.

In December 2001, Singapore authorities arrested thirteen JI members, eight of whom had trained in al Qaida camps in Afghanistan, who planned to bomb the U.S. and Israeli embassies, British and Australian diplomatic buildings and U.S. and Singapore defense targets in Singapore. Members of the group had conducted videotaped surveillance of potential targets and had already acquired explosives in preparation for the attacks. A copy of the videotape made by members of the group and showing intended targets in Singapore was found in Afghanistan in the wreckage of an al Qaida leader's house that same month.

JI members carried out the near-simultaneous bombings in Bali, Indonesia that killed 202 people on October 12, 2002. Two of the three blasts occurred in a busy nightclub in a popular tourist district, and one occurred near the U.S. consular agency. Citizens from over 20 countries were killed in the bombings. Australia suffered the greatest number of casualties with 88 Australian nationals killed.

JI has been blamed for the suicide bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 5, 2003 that killed 12 people. The attack took place during the busy lunch hour in Jakarta's central business district.

JI is also believed to be responsible for the September 9, 2004 suicide bomb attack outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed nine people and injured 182.

The United States named JI a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) and a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 23, 2002. Two days later, JI was added to the United Nations 1267 Committee's consolidated list of terrorists tied to Usama bin Laden (UBL), al Qaida or the Taliban. Notably, 36 countries supported the UN listing of JI, the single largest designation action to occur since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

These JI individuals were designated today under Executive Order 13224, chiefly pursuant to paragraphs (d)(i) and (d)(ii) based on a determination that they assist in, sponsor or provide financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, or are otherwise associated with, persons listed as subject to E.O. 13224. These individuals also meet the standard for inclusion in the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list because of the support provided to UBL, al Qaida or the Taliban.

Inclusion on the 1267 Committee's list triggers international obligations on all member countries, requiring them to freeze the assets and prevent the travel of listed individuals and to block the sale of arms and military equipment to them.  Publicly identifying these supporters of terrorism is a critical part of the international campaign to counter terrorism. Additionally, other organizations and individuals are put on notice that they are prohibited from doing business with them.

Blocking actions are critical to combating the financing of terrorism.  When an action is put into place, any assets existing in the formal financial system at the time of the order are to be frozen.  Blocking actions serve additional functions as well, acting as a deterrent for non-designated parties who might otherwise be willing to finance terrorist activity; exposing terrorist financing money trails that may generate leads to previously unknown terrorist cells and financiers; disrupting terrorist financing networks by encouraging designated terrorist supporters to disassociate themselves from terrorist activity and renounce their affiliation with terrorist groups; terminating terrorist cash flows by shutting down the pipelines used to move terrorist-related assets; forcing terrorists to use alternative, more costly and higher-risk means of financing their activities; and engendering international cooperation and compliance with obligations under UN Security Council Resolutions. 

For more information on Treasury actions against JI, please visit the following links: