UK updates sanctions records for five senior Taliban figures

LONDON, October 30, 2026 — The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced five administrative corrections to the UK Sanctions List under the Afghanistan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. The amendments concern Abdul Latif Mansur, Abdul Ghani Baradar Abdul Ahmad Turk, Amir Khan Motaqi, Abdul-Haq Wassiq and Khairullah Khairkhwah, all of whom remain subject to financial sanctions and travel restrictions.

The corrections principally update identifying information, including passport numbers, diplomatic passport issuance and expiry dates, dates and places of birth, aliases and other biographical details. Several entries incorporate more recent Afghan diplomatic passports issued between 2024 and 2026, providing additional information to support sanctions screening and identification.

Among those affected is Abdul Ghani Baradar, whose record includes updated diplomatic passport information, including a passport issued in February 2025 and valid until February 2035. Amir Khan Motaqi's entry also contains amendments to passport records, while Abdul-Haq Wassiq's listing includes details of a passport issued in March 2026 and expiring in March 2031.

The remaining corrections concern Abdul Latif Mansur and Khairullah Khairkhwah, whose records contain revised identifying and biographical information. All five individuals were originally designated under the United Nations Taliban sanctions framework in 2001 and remain listed under the UK's Afghanistan sanctions regime.

The FCDO classified the changes as administrative corrections rather than new designations. Consequently, the amendments do not introduce additional asset freezes or travel bans, remove existing restrictions or alter the individuals' designated status.

Under the existing measures, UK persons and businesses must continue to freeze funds and economic resources belonging to the designated individuals and must not make funds or economic resources available to them, directly or indirectly, unless an applicable exception or licence permits the activity. Relevant firms must also report suspected holdings or dealings involving frozen assets to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

The updated records provide additional identifiers for financial institutions and compliance teams screening customers, counterparties and transactions against the UK Sanctions List.