U.S. Sanctions ICC President and Head of Its Palestine Arrest-Warrant Team

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday added International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye to its Specially Designated Nationals list under Executive Order 14203. By the court's own account, Seye heads its Unified Teams in the Palestine situation and led the investigations that produced the arrest warrants there. The order authorizing the designations finds that the ICC has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and Israel. The listings freeze any American assets the two hold and cut them off from the U.S. financial system. Treasury simultaneously issued General License 12, permitting wind-down transactions with them through September 17, 2026.