USA Freezing Iraqi Assets

Prepared Statement of Treasury Secretary John Snow
Returning Iraqi Funds to the Iraqi People

Today we launched a financial offensive against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

First, the President today issued an Executive Order confiscating non-diplomatic Iraqi government assets in the United States. The Order authorizes Treasury to marshal the assets, and to use the funds for the benefit and welfare of the Iraqi people.

Second, the United States calls today upon the world to identify and freeze all assets of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi regime, and their agents pursuant to established international obligations.

Third, we are directing a worldwide hunt for the blood money that Hussein and his cronies have stolen from the Iraqi people.

In 1990, the world community imposed economic sanctions on the Hussein regime to prevent the dictator from obtaining the means to threaten his neighbors and to develop weapons of mass destruction. The United States, the United Kingdom, and others took prompt action, freezing well in excess of two billion dollars and barring trade and commerce with the Hussein regime.

Now we call upon all nations to join us and to step forward to fulfill their obligations for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

The success of economic sanctions requires international cooperation and effective enforcement. The United States is committed to helping enforce these international obligations. For that reason, we reserve the right to take countermeasures and sanctions against any institution that does not comply with these international obligations including cutting off access to the U.S. financial system under provisions granted by the USA PATRIOT Act.

The world must find, freeze, and return Iraqi money for the Iraqi people and their future.

This effort will ensure that the assets and funds belonging to the Iraqi people are dedicated to the wellbeing and benefit of their nation.
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ATTACHED:
FACT SHEET
Statement by Treasury Secretary John Snow
Executive Order
Letter to NY fed
Letter to U.s. banks
U.S. Banks With Accounts Subject to Iraqi Asset Vesting
Iraqi Sanctions Regulations DIRECTIVE LICENSE
Message to the Congress on Confiscating and Vesting Certain Iraqi
Property
FACT SHEET
- Today, the President vested more than $1 billion in nondiplomatic
Iraqi accounts currently frozen in U.S. banks.
- The purpose of this action is to enable these Iraqi funds to be
used to help the Iraqi people and assist in the reconstruction of Iraq,
such as by funding humanitarian relief or payment of Iraqi government
workers.
- The action targets the frozen accounts of the Government of Iraq
and four Iraqi state entities:
o The Central Bank of Iraq;
o Rafidain Bank;
o Rasheed Bank; and
o The State Organization for Marketing Oil
- These accounts currently hold approximately $1.7 billion in
frozen assets in the United States.
- The President"s action did NOT vest approximately $300 million in
assets that are subject to judicial writs on behalf of victims of
terrorism who obtained judgments against Iraq.
- The assets being vested were frozen after Iraq"s invasion of
Kuwait in 1990.
- Once vested, the assets will be administered by the Treasury
Department, until such time as they can be returned to Iraq.
- Today the President also directed Secretaries Snow and Powell to
work with other countries to identify other Iraqi state assets,
including the ill-gotten gains of Saddam Hussein and his regime, held
in accounts around the world, and to return them for the benefit of the
people of Iraq. They have profited over the past 12 years from the
illicit trade in oil and other goods at the expense of Iraq"s citizens.
Prepared Statement of Treasury Secretary John Snow
Returning Iraqi Funds to the Iraqi People
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See: Supporting documents at US Treasury Site
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