Washington, DC - The Department of State has designated Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. E.O. 13224 imposes strict sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

These designations seek to deny Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie the resources they need to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

In July 2016, Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie were arrested during raids in South Africa for their links to ISIS. At the time of their arrest, the twin brothers had been plotting attacks targeting Jewish individuals and institutions and foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy in South Africa. Both Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie attempted to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS and recruited others to join the terrorist group. Tony-Lee Thulsie also communicated with individuals linked to ISIS to discuss how to build and obtain explosive devices for the purpose of carrying out attacks.

Today’s designations notify the U.S. public and the international community that Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. Terrorism designations expose and isolate entities and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.

A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/index.htm .