US Governance — 2026-08-19

US Treasury sanctions ICC president Akane and senior trial lawyer Seye, vows to dismantle the court

BLUFSanctioning a sitting ICC president signals a personnel-level dismantlement campaign, with additional designations against court officials likely within 60 days as European host states face mounting pressure to coordinate defensive measures.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday added ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal to its Specially Designated Nationals list under Executive Order 14203, freezing any US assets and issuing a general license authorizing wind-down transactions through September 17 1. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two "directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction," and stated the administration is prepared to take further measures "to systematically dismantle the ICC" 2. Seye has served on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has been nominated for an ICC judgeship 2. The ICC called the sanctions a threat to "the international legal order," Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands "disapproved" of the move, and Human Rights Watch, which is separately suing the administration over earlier ICC-related sanctions, said the action reflects "utter contempt for international law" 23.

Analysis
Sanctioning a sitting ICC president and a judge-nominee on the Netanyahu prosecution team escalates the confrontation into a personnel-level campaign that will pressure European host and funder states toward defensive coordination on asset protections and judicial immunity. Additional designations against ICC officials are likely within 60 days, given the administration's stated intent to dismantle the court and its established pattern of sequential sanctions actions. High confidence rests on repeated public commitments to escalate and the precedent set by last year's sanctions wave against ICC prosecutors.

4 sources

International Criminal Court-related Designations; Venezuela-related Designation; Issuance of International Criminal Court-related General License - US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control
US imposes sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane, according to Treasury Department - The Jerusalem Post
US Sanctions 2 More International Criminal Court Officials - Human Rights Watch
US Sanctions Top ICC Officials and Vows to 'Dismantle' Court - Bloomberg