August 1, 2006
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Adam Szubin Named New OFAC Director

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson has named Adam Szubin as the new Director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In the role of OFAC Director, Szubin will be responsible for administering and enforcing the United States Government's economic sanction programs to advance foreign policy and national security objectives. These programs target supporters of terrorism, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), international narcotics traffickers, and select foreign countries.

"As the new Director of OFAC, I believe that Adam will continue to strengthen the office's efforts to protect the national and economic security of the United States," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's Under Secretary for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

During his tenure at the Treasury, Szubin has served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. In this capacity, he helped to develop and coordinate the implementation of policies on a range of issues, including terrorist financing, money laundering, sanctions programs, rogue regimes, WMD proliferation, and intelligence analysis. Szubin chaired the Money Laundering Threat Assessment Working Group, which produced the first government-wide analysis of U.S. money laundering vulnerabilities.

"Adam's ideas and expertise helped to create the solid foundations on which the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence has grown over the past two years. As a central engineer of TFI's policies, Adam has demonstrated tremendous ability to apply innovative strategies to combat the range of illicit threats we face," said Levey.

Szubin came to the Treasury from the Department of Justice, where he served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, coordinating the Department's efforts to combat terrorism financing. Prior to assuming that position, he worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the Justice Department, serving as a member of the Terrorism Litigation Task Force.

Szubin clerked for Judge Ronald Gilman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and Harvard College, magna cum laude, and was a Fulbright scholar. Szubin lives with his wife in Washington, DC.

Szubin replaces Robert Werner, who served as the Director of OFAC until his departure earlier this year. Werner now serves as the Director of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Barbara Hammerle has served as Acting OFAC Director since Werner's departure.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is charged with administering and enforcing U.S. economic and trade sanctions based on foreign policy and national security goals. OFAC currently administers roughly 30 programs that target terrorists, rogue countries and regimes, narcotics traffickers, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and other illicit economic and national security threats.

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