On Feb.13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court decision that allowed the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to freeze the assets of the Missouri-based Islamic American Relief Agency. The court said the asset seizure was lawful because the court found the organization is an affiliate of a Sudanese group that was designated as a terrorist organization in 2004, making this the first case to allow such designation based solely on an alleged branch relationship. There was no finding that the U.S. group used funds to support terrorist activities, and no criminal charges have been filed. In October 2004, OFAC designated the Sudan-based Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA), based in Sudan, as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist." A few weeks later the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Islamic American Relief Agency's (IARA-USA) offices in Columbia, MO, shutting down a relief organization that provided disaster and war relief in Africa, Asia and Bosnia. The Columbia Tribune reported that tax records indicate IARA-USA provided nearly $23 million in such relief from 1992-2002. It was founded in 1985 by a Sudanese immigrant and named the Islamic African Relief Agency USA. In 2000, the U.S. group changed its name to the Islamic American Relief Agency and established a separate board of directors and finances. In December 2004, IARA-USA filed suit challenging the asset seizure, claiming OFAC's action was not supported by the record and violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution. In September 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of OFAC, holding the "record supported OFAC's conclusion that IARA-USA was a branch of IARA," making the seizure lawful under Executive Order 13224 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended by the PATRIOT Act. The court used incidents occurring prior to 2000, when IARA-USA changed its name and governance, to find a "branch" relationship between it and the IARA. It also did not allow IARA-USA access to documents used by the government. In upholding the lower court ruling, the appeals court said a "highly deferential standard of review applies," and it would only overturn OFAC's action if it was found to be arbitrary or an abuse of discretion. The court noted, "We may not substitute our judgment for OFAC's." It acknowledged "that the unclassified record evidence is not overwhelming, but we reiterate that our review — in an area at the intersection of national security, foreign policy, and administrative law — is extremely deferential." In its opinion, the court cited its previous decision upholding OFAC's action against the Holy Land Foundation, emphasizing that, when foreign affairs are involved, "We owe the executive branch even more latitude than in the domestic context." However, the ongoing criminal prosecution of members of Holy Land's board of directors has revealed questionable evidence supporting OFAC's claims. The IARA-USA case is significant, since the court states that a charity can be shut down even when there is no allegation of direct support of terrorism if the organization has a close enough relationship, history or other ties to a group that is designated by OFAC. The opinion notes, "IARA-USA argues that OFAC cannot block an entity's assets unless it determines that the entity poses an 'unusual and extraordinary threat to national security.' The district court rejected this argument, holding that the threat need not be found with regard to each individual entity….We agree." The court also rejected IARA-USA's constitutional claims.