GAO Reports On Effectiveness Of Kingpin Act Targeting Narcotics Trafficking

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on the effectiveness of legislation passed in 2000 which allows the Department of the Treasury to work in concert with other agencies to designate and sanction foreign individuals and entities that contribute to illegal narcotics trafficking. GAO struggled to isolate the impacts of the Kingpin Act with other government initiatives to combat illicit drug trafficking and recommended more uniform methods for agencies to report on their efforts in relation to this law.

Within the Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) leads the interagency efforts to combat and dismantle drug trafficking entities. OFAC reports annually to Congress on the Kingpin Act designation and corresponding agency expenditures, but GAO noted that the office has provided little guidance to partner agencies relating to their data reporting, which has caused inconsistencies between agencies.

For example, the report notes that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only reports personnel expenditures when DHS is the lead investigative agency on the case. Contrarily, the Department of Defense (DOD) reports personnel expenditures whether or not they lead the case. GAO found that OFAC failed to notify Congress about the inconsistencies in agency data reporting.

While procedures for reporting expenditures were inconsistent between agencies, GAO did note that coordination on the investigations themselves was done in a process that “partner agencies generally find sufficient to understand their roles.”

For example, the OFAC often partners with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on their investigations. OFAC and DEA have signed a memorandum of understanding that clarifies how they work together and share information related to Kingpin cases.

The report explains, “OFAC’s partner agencies reported that they generally understand their responsibilities under the Kingpin Act and how to find answers to their questions about the Kingpin Act designation process… Most partner agencies in Colombia and Mexico, where the majority of Kingpin Act designations have taken place, reported that the presence of an OFAC Attaché in those countries made it easy for them to ask for clarification on the process as needed.”

Partner agencies and OFAC noted challenges in reporting the effectiveness of the Kingpin Act due to multiple ongoing efforts to reduce narcotics trafficking into the United States. Despite the limitations, OFAC has reported that is has designated more than 2,000 kingpins and their supports and has frozen more than half a billion dollars in assets under the act. Host government officials have also reported that the Kingpin Act and sanctions levied as a result of the designations have assisted them in imposing penalties on drug traffickers.