The Trump administration placed a U.N. human-rights expert and multiple International Criminal Court officials on a U.S. sanctions blacklist typically reserved for terrorists and crime bosses, according to a Reuters investigation.

Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestine, sent “confidential” letters in spring 2025 to more than a dozen U.S. companies and two charities warning that they could be named in a forthcoming U.N. report for “contributing to gross violations of human rights” by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. The companies included Alphabet, Amazon, Caterpillar, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and Palantir, Reuters said.

The letters prompted alarm among corporate recipients, and at least two companies sought help from the White House, the news agency reported, citing U.S. officials. Despite the U.N.’s position that Albanese has diplomatic immunity, the Trump administration sanctioned her for “writing threatening letters” and for urging the ICC to investigate the companies, Reuters said. 

Albanese and sanctioned ICC staff were added to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals list, alongside figures such as suspected al Qaeda terrorists and major drug traffickers, Reuters reported.

The campaign was intended in part to preempt any future attempts to hold Trump or his officials accountable for U.S. actions abroad. The administration has described ICC efforts to investigate alleged crimes by Israeli leaders in Gaza and U.S. personnel in Afghanistan as “illegitimate and baseless,” Reuters said, and the State Department accused Albanese of making “extreme and unfounded accusations” and unduly encouraging investigations of American companies and executives.

The personal and operational effects of the designation were immediate. Albanese said her bank accounts were closed and credit cards canceled, forcing her to borrow cards from friends to travel, according to the report. 

The news agency reported similar impacts for ICC officials, including Canadian judge Kimberly Prost, who said it was psychologically difficult to be listed alongside people associated with terrorism after a career in criminal justice.

Read more at Reuters