Category: Security News

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated two senior officials of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), who were involved in the abduction of Robert A. “Bob” Levinson on Iran’s Kish Island on or about March 9, 2007. For 13 years, the Iranian government, which continues to take foreigners and dual-nationals hostage as political leverage, has denied knowledge of Mr. Levinson’s whereabouts or condition. However, senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime. The individuals designated today, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, acted in their capacity as MOIS officers in the abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson.

“The abduction of Mr. Levinson in Iran is an outrageous example of the Iranian regime’s willingness to commit unjust acts,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The United States will always prioritize the safety and security of the American people and will continue to aggressively pursue those who played a role in Mr. Levinson’s detention and probable death.”

“The government of Iran pledged to provide assistance in bringing Bob Levinson home, but it has never followed through. The truth is that Iranian intelligence officers —with the approval of senior Iranian officials — were involved in Bob’s abduction and detention,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “While no one should be as cruelly treated as Bob was, this situation is personal because Bob served as a special agent for 22 years and will always be a part of the FBI family. We will never waver from our commitment to find out more about Bob’s long captivity, to give the Levinson family the answers they deserve, and to finally bring Bob home.”

The MOIS has been designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13553 for being complicit in the commission of serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people since June 12, 2009, as well as previously designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to E.O. 13224.

Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai

Mohammad Baseri is a high-ranking MOIS officer involved in counterespionage activities in and outside of Iran, who has been involved in sensitive investigations related to Iranian national security issues. Baseri has worked directly with intelligence officials from other countries in order to harm U.S. interests. Ahmad Khazai is a high-ranking member of the MOIS who, in his role as a senior official of the MOIS, has led MOIS delegations to other countries to assess the security situation.

Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, acting in their capacity as MOIS officers, were involved in the abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson.

OFAC is designating Baseri and Khazai pursuant to E.O. 13553 for acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Iran’s MOIS.

Sanctions Implications

All property and interests in property of these persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.

In addition, non-U.S. persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated today may themselves be exposed to designation. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for or on behalf of the persons designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.

View identifying information on the individuals designated today.

####

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Director Christopher Wray has named Timothy Waters as the special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office. Most recently, Mr. Waters served as the deputy assistant director of the Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) in Virginia.

Mr. Waters joined the FBI as a special agent in 2000 and was assigned to work white-collar crime in the Detroit Field Office. After the 9/11 attack, he worked counterterrorism matters, and in 2005 and 2006 he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support military and intelligence community operations.

Mr. Waters was promoted in 2007 to supervisory special agent and led a squad on Detroit’s Joint Terrorism Task Force that focused on domestic terrorism and reactive terrorism matters. The squad worked on several priority matters, including the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day in 2009. In 2010, Mr. Waters was named the legal attaché in Islamabad. He returned to Detroit in 2011 as supervisor of a JTTF that focused on al Qaeda and al Qaeda-inspired individuals.

In 2014, Mr. Waters was promoted to assistant special agent in charge for administrative matters in Detroit. He was reassigned in 2016 as the assistant special agent in charge of Detroit’s National Security Branch, responsible for all counterterrorism, cyber, counterintelligence, and weapons of mass destruction investigations in Michigan.

Mr. Waters was promoted again in 2019 to serve as the director of the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. The FBI-led multi-agency task force is the national focal point for coordinating, integrating, and sharing cyber threat information. In 2020, he was named deputy assistant director of CIRG, where he helped lead the FBI’s response to critical incidents worldwide.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Waters served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army for eight years. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. He later earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Hate crimes have a devastating impact on victims, families, and communities. While investigating hate crimes is a top priority of the FBI’s civil rights program, the FBI also works to collect reliable data on these crimes.

The FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics data collection includes hate crime data voluntarily reported by federal, state, local, tribal, and college and university law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Dependable data help law enforcement and the government to:

• Identify challenges and direct resources to combat these crimes;
• Support crime victims;
• Give leaders and the public information to understand hate crimes in their communities;
• Share information among law enforcement agencies; and
  
• Provide states with hate crime information by location, volume, and type.

The collection dates back to 1990, when Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act. The Hate Crime Statistics Act and its amendments specify the types of bias reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program as: race/ethnicity/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.

Hate Crime Reporting

A hate crime is a crime like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. Hate itself is not a crime—and the FBI is mindful of protecting free speech and civil liberties.

Law enforcement agencies report a bias crime to UCR only if an investigation finds objective facts to show the crime was bias-motivated. For UCR purposes, a law enforcement agency’s investigation determines if a crime was a hate crime, not findings of a coroner, court, jury, or prosecutor.

Possible Signs of a Hate Crime

It is sometimes difficult for investigators to know with certainty if a crime was the result of bias. Certain details may indicate a bias motivation in a crime, such as:

• The offender and the victim were of different protected categories, such as race, religion, or disability.
• The offender said or wrote something indicating a bias.
• The investigators found bias-related drawings, markings, symbols, graffiti, or items at the crime scene. (For example, a swastika was painted on the door of a synagogue.)
• The victim was engaged in activities related to their protected category.
• The incident coincided with a holiday or a significant date relating to a protected category.

How Law Enforcement Agencies Collect and Report Hate Crimes

The hate crime data collection process begins at the local agency level when an officer responds to the alleged hate crime. When gathering hate crime data, law enforcement agencies use a two-tiered process.

The first-level officer determines if there may be a bias motive. The second-level officer or unit reviews the facts and determines whether a hate crime occurred. Then, the second-level officer or unit submits the hate crime incident to the agency’s records management personnel, who compile the crime data and submit it to the FBI.

Hate Crime Statistics Publications

The UCR Program publishes hate crime statistics each November. The Hate Crime master files and downloads are available on the Crime Data Explorer. Requests for hate crime data files may be sent to crimestatsinfo@fbi.gov.

Why Agencies Should Participate

The UCR Program relies on state and local agencies to submit hate crime data. Reporting this data demonstrates agencies’ openness and transparency with the communities they serve. Reliable statistics help the FBI to provide a representative picture of hate crime to inform, educate, and strengthen communities.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

On December 9, the FBI released detailed data on nearly 7.7 million criminal offenses reported via the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in 2019.

The Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s latest report, NIBRS, 2019, includes data about victims, known offenders, and relationships for offenses reported in 23 categories with 52 offenses. It also presents arrest data for those crimes, as well as 10 additional categories for which only arrest data is collected.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News