The United Kingdom announced on Monday that it has imposed sanctions on the Iranian-backed, Swedish-based criminal gang ‘Foxtrot Network’ and its leader, Rawa Majid.
Foxtrot has targeted Jewish and Israeli targets across Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime, according to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
“The Iranian regime uses criminal gangs across the world to threaten people,” Lammy said in a statement.
“The UK has targeted this criminal network and its leader, Rawa Majid, due to their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime. The UK will not tolerate these threats.”
The sanctions were imposed after the UK responded to more than 20 Iranian-backed plots since the start of 2022 against British citizens and UK residents.
“This forms part of the UK government’s ongoing response to Iranian hostilities in Europe,” he said.
“Last month, we announced that Iran will be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), and to date, the UK has sanctioned more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities in response to the regime’s human rights violations, nuclear weapons program, and malign influence internationally.”
According to the statement, Majid is on a UK travel ban, asset freeze, and director disqualification, which is “an offense for a person designated for the purpose of those sanctions to act as a director of a UK company or a foreign company that is sufficiently connected to the UK, or to take part in the management, formation, or promotion of a company.”
US sanctions Foxtrot
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the 'Foxtrot Network' in March as a transactional criminal organization.
OFAC clarified that not only is Foxtrot involved in trafficking illegal drugs, but it also “carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe, along with its fugitive leader Rawa Majid.”
One such attack the criminal gang was responsible for was the January 2024 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, when they left explosive devices in the vicinity. Sweden’s national bomb squad successfully destroyed these devices.
The Mossad claimed Majid was linked to Iran and had a role in coordinating violent attacks on behalf of the Islamic Republic in 2023.