[Page: E1725]
Department of the Treasury,
Washington, DC, June 24, 1993.
Hon. Lee H. Hamilton,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On April 19, we sent you the `Annual Report to the Congress on Assets in the United States Belonging to Terrorist Countries or International Terrorist Organizations.' Our attention to the problem of international terrorism did not diminish with the production of that report. Consequently, we are submitting an updated version of Exhibit A which contains new figures recently developed by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
This revised Exhibit A, `Assets in the United States Belonging to State Sponsors of Terrorism,' contains more detailed information and higher totals than were reported in our original submission. The amount of blocked funds is increased in the case of four of the six terrorist states: Cuba, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea.
This latest information is provided now, rather than including it in the next annual report, to ensure that the current report will be more useful to the Congress.
Sincerely,
GAIL E. PETERSON,
Deputy Director,
Office of Legislative Affairs.
Enclosure.
The following list contains revised information on the nature and extent of assets in the United States belonging to countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism. It should be noted that assets blocked under the authority of an existing United States economic sanctions program are not subject to attachment by any claimant until such time as a claims settlement process has been established in conjunction with the lifting of sanctions against the target state.
Not all of these blocked assets are literally within the United States. Substantial amounts, identified further below, are in foreign branches of U.S. banks. They are blocked because, under U.S. law, those bank branches are subject to United States jurisdiction. Consequently, those assets are not blocked at institutions located within the United States. These figures may increase at any time as the Office of Foreign Assets Control identifies and blocks additional assets of sanctioned countries.
The Treasury Department does not compile information on the holdings of private individuals or organizations in the United States, unless those holdings are subject to an assets freeze imposed under the authority of the Trading With the Enemy Act or the International Emergency Powers Act. The Office of Foreign Assets Control is carefully examining organizations that may fall within the scope of its economic sanctions programs.
1 Amounts in millions of U.S. dollars.
Cuba---Government of Cuba's blocked assets. Primarily bank accounts. Source: Office of Foreign Assets Control (`FAC'), Treasury, $113.7.
Iran--Government of Iran's diplomatic properties remaining blocked since 1979-1981 hostage crisis. Primarily real estate. Source FAC, Treasury, $22.3.
Iraq--Government of Iraq's frozen assets. Primarily bank deposits. Source: FAC, Treasury, $1,599; Blocked in U.S. banks' foreign branches, 278; Loaned by the U.S. to the U.N. in compliance with UNSCR 778, -200.
Net Iraqi Assets in U.S. $1,101.
Libya--Government of Libya's frozen assets. Primarily bank deposits. Source FAC, Treasury, $958.1; Blocked in U.S. banks' foreign branches, $-42.9
Net Libyan Assets in U.S., $915.2.
North Korea--North Korea's frozen bank deposits. Source: FAC, Treasury, $7.4; Blocked in U.S. banks' foreign branches, -2.
Net North Korean Assets in U.S., $5.4.
Syria--Total liabilities of U.S. banks ($245) to official Syrian institutions and ($4) in total liabilities of U.S. nonbanking institutions to Syria. Source: Treasury Bulletin, March 1993, $249.
Totals: Total state sponsor assets within U.S. jurisdiction, $2,929.5; Unencumbered assets of Syria, -249.
Total blocked state sponsor assets within U.S. jurisdiction, $2,680.5.
Total blocked in U.S. banks' foreign branches, -322.9.
UNSCR 778 loan [Iraq], -200.
Total blocked state sponsor assets within the United States, $2,157.6.
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