U.S. Department of the Treasury
Press Office
July 25, 2008
Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Entities Supporting Mugabe Regime; U.S. Imposes Further Sanction Against Mugabe Regime
And Its Supporters
Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated seventeen entities,
including several Zimbabwean parastatals, and one individual whose support for Robert Mugabe's regime contributes to the
undermining of democratic processes and institutions in Zimbabwe.
"In light of the continued intransigence of the brutal Mugabe regime, the U.S. is imposing further sanctions against
this regime and its supporters," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "These actions send a clear warning to those who
would protect Mugabe and his assets at the expense of the Zimbabwean people."
Today's designations include a number of Zimbabwean parastatals and entities that are owned or controlled by the
Government of Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe, his senior officials, and regime cronies have used these entities to illegally
siphon revenue and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people. Treasury's designations today include the Minerals
Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (a.k.a MMCZ), the sole marketing and export agent for all minerals, except gold and
silver, mined in Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (a.k.a. ZMDC), involved in investment in the
mining industry in Zimbabwe, and in planning, coordinating and implementing mining projects on behalf of the Government
of Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (a.k.a. ZISCO), Zimbabwe's largest steel works; the Agricultural
Development Bank of Zimbabwe (a.k.a Agribank), a commercial bank owned by the Government of Zimbabwe; the Industrial
Development Corporation of Zimbabwe Ltd, a state-owned enterprise that owns a large number of companies operating in the
industrial sector, including the chemical, clothing and textiles, mineral processing, and motor and transport sectors;
the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe, a financing entity; Zimre Holdings Limited, an investment and
reinsurance entity; ZB Financial Holdings Limited, a holding company for a group of companies involved in commercial and
merchant banking; and 4 major subsidiaries of ZB Financial Holdings Limited: ZB Bank Limited (a.k.a Zimbank), ZB
Holdings Limited, Intermarket Holdings Limited, and Scotfin Limited.
Also designated today are Thamer Bin Saeed Ahmed Al-Shanfari, an Omani national with close ties to Mugabe and his top
officials, as well as his company, Oryx Natural Resources, which Al-Shanfari uses to enable Mugabe and his senior
officials to maintain access to, and derive personal benefit from, various mining ventures in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (the "DRC"). OFAC has also designated OSLEG (a.k.a. Operation Sovereign Legitimacy), an enterprise that is a
commercial arm of the Zimbabwean army representing its interests in the DRC and elsewhere, and which is controlled by
various senior officials in Zimbabwe. The activities of OSLEG and Al-Shanfari's Oryx Natural Resources, benefiting
Robert Mugabe and his regime's senior officials, have been widely documented by various non-governmental and human
rights organizations.
Finally, OFAC is designating the following companies that are owned or controlled by a number of Specially Designated
Nationals ("SDNs"): Divine Homes, a property company whose Chairman is SDN David Chapfika, Zimbabwe's Deputy Minister of
Agriculture; COMOIL (Pvt) Ltd., a petroleum importing company, owned by SDN Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe's Deputy
Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation; and Famba Safaris, a registered Zimbabwean safari operator, whose
Director and major shareholder is SDN Webster Shamu, Mugabe's Minister of State for Policy Implementation.
As a result of Treasury's action, any assets of the individual and entities designated today that are within U.S.
jurisdiction must be frozen. Additionally, U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial
transactions with the individual or entities.
ENDS