JS-2057: Treasury Identifies Cuban-Controlled Dot Com



	FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS October 25, 2004 JS-2057 Treasury Identifies Cuban-Controlled Dot Com The U.S. Department of the Treasury today identified the electronic money transfer business, SERCUBA, as a national of Cuba. "As we have seen, the Castro regime uses a variety of schemes and businesses located not only in Cuba, but also in countries around the world to feed its military and security infrastructure – instead of the Cuban people. Today, we are financially isolating SERCUBA to make it more difficult for the Cuban regime to obtain the hard currency it uses to oppress its own people and to prop up its government," said Juan Carlos Zarate, Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime. SERCUBA provides a means by which U.S. persons can forward remittances to Cuban nationals via a third country or through SERCUBA's own website. SERCUBA has a call center in Havana and sixteen offices located in Cuba, along with two offices abroad – one in Italy and one in Spain. The entity is organized under Cuban laws and is supported by Cimex, a Specially Designated National of Cuba. Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction may not engage in any transactions with SERCUBA unless authorized by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and all property of SERCUBA that is in the possession of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction is blocked. Today's action is part of the on-going effort by President Bush and his Administration to choke off dollars streaming to the Castro regime and to make it more difficult for the Cuban government to harden its internal security and military infrastructure. These efforts are part of the Bush Administration's overall strategy to hasten the day when the people of Cuba can live free, democratic lives. Both in October 2003 and May 2004, President Bush announced stepped-up enforcement of U.S. laws prohibiting travel-related transactions with the island. Treasury's identification of Cuban-controlled businesses furthers these efforts by cutting the designees out of the U.S. financial system, therefore keeping more hard currency from flowing into the coffers of Castro's regime. With today's announcement, the Treasury Department has now taken action against 13 Cuban-controlled entities since President Bush's October 2003 statement. ENTITY SERCUBA a.k.a.: http://www.sercuba.com Addresses • Gral. Gómez #105 e/ Maceo e Independencia, Camagüey, Cuba • Calle 29 #5218 e/ 52 y 54 Edif. Cimex, Cienfuegos, Cuba • Libertad s/n, e/ Honorato del Castillo y Maceo, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba • Calle 6 #408 esq. 3ra. Ave. Miramar Playa, La Habana, Cuba • Edif. Las Novedades altos Ave. Frank País e/ Segunda y Aven. Figueredo. Rpto. Jesús Menéndez. Bayamo, Granma, Cuba • Crombet s/n e/ Los Maceos y Moncada, Guantánamo, Cuba • Frexes #216 e/ Maceo y Mártires, Holguín, Cuba • Ave. 1ro. De Mayo s/n. Moa, Holguín, Cuba • Vicente García #28 e/ Julián Santana y Francisco Vega. Tienda La Nueva, Las Tunas, Cuba • Calle 40 esq. Playa. Varadero, Matanzas, Cuba • Calle Ayuntamiento e/ Medio y Río, Matanzas, Cuba • Gerardo Medina #633, Pinar del Río, Cuba • Independencia #171 Sur, altos, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba • Félix Peña #565 e/ Jose A. Saco y Aguilera, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba • Carretera Central Km. 298 Banda Esperanza, Villa Clara, Cuba • Calle 39 e/ 30 y 32 Altos del Servi Cupet "El parque," Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. For more information on previous identifications of Cuban-controlled entities, please visit the links below: http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/js1161.htm http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1240.htm http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/js1852.htm