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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A U.N. sanctions committee has imposed a travel ban and frozen the assets of two men linked to an alleged arms dealer with ties to former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, who is wanted on war crimes charges in Sierra Leone, the United Nations announced Thursday.
The Security Council's Liberia sanctions committee also froze the assets of 30 companies believed connected to Taylor, who was granted political asylum by Nigeria in 2003 as rebels attacked the Liberian capital. He was later indicted by the U.N.-backed war-crimes tribunal for backing Sierra Leone rebels in their insurgency.
The two men are Richard Chichakli, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen, identified as alleged arms dealer Victor Bout's "U.S.-based chief financial officer," and Valeriy Naydo, described as Bout's No. 2 in South Africa and said to be connected to front companies that supplied weapons to Liberian fighters, the sanctions committee said.
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