The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings, contract killings, assaults, and other forms of violence. The group is also one of the most prominent drug trafficking organizations across the region with a presence in other European countries. The Foxtrot Network has also trafficked arms and is one of the main contributors to rising violence in Sweden. It routinely uses teenagers to conduct attacks, such as in the Foxtrot Network’s killing of a rival gang leader’s mother.
“Iran’s brazen use of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime’s attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, describing the latest sanctions steps. “Treasury, alongside our U.S. Government and international partners, will continue to hold accountable those who seek to further Iran’s thuggish and destabilizing agenda.”
The March 12 action builds on the Treasury Department’s continued implementation of National Security Presidential Memorandum-2, aimed at disrupting, degrading, and denying the Iranian regime’s ability to sustain its criminal destabilizing activities.
Group leader Rawa Majid (aka the Kurdish Fox), along with other Foxtrot members, has purchased Turkish citizenship in order to avoid Swedish police whilst being able to control the network from Turkey. Turkey has refused to send him to Sweden, citing his citizenship, although there are news reports claiming Majid intends to leave Turkey soon.
The Foxtrot Network sanctions came one day before Washington announced new sanctions, the second set specifically for Iran so far in Trump’s second term, on the Iranian oil minister and the so-called “shadow fleet.”
We are reproducing below the text of a March 12 State Department media note signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the Foxtrot Network sanctions with information on Foxtrot’s links to the already sanctioned Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security:
“Today (March 12), the United States is sanctioning the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal organization, and its fugitive leader, Rawa Majid. The Foxtrot Network is a notorious criminal gang based in Sweden and a prominent drug trafficking organization in the region. The group is involved in arms trafficking and contributes to rising violence in Northern Europe, including shootings, contract killings, and assaults.
The Iranian regime leveraged the Foxtrot Network to carry out attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe, including the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 2024. Majid has specifically cooperated with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which is sanctioned by the United States under multiple authorities. Majid is also the subject of numerous Swedish charges related to narcotics and firearms.
The Department of State, together with the Department of the Treasury, will continue to expose and impose costs on the Iranian regime for its malign activities as part of the Trump administration’s renewed maximum pressure campaigns. This action also underscores our commitment to hold accountable those individuals and organizations who work in conjunction with the regime in Tehran to undermine our nation’s safety and security and our global partners.
The Foxtrot Network is being sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863, for being a foreign person that constitutes a significant transnational criminal organization. Majid is being sanctioned for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Foxtrot Network. As a result, all property and interests in property of the designated persons in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked.”