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Treasury seizes Iraqi assets in US banks
By Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press, 03/20/03
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is seizing $1.74 billion in Iraqi assets already frozen in the United States, saying it will use the money for humanitarian purposes in Iraq. President Bush signed an executive order on Thursday directing the Treasury Department to take the action. Treasury officials believed it marked the second time since World War II that the government confiscated financial assets. The assets, which were frozen by the government in 1990, are currently sitting in accounts at 17 banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America and Wachovia, in the United States. Bush's order "authorizes Treasury to marshal the assets and to use the funds for the benefit and welfare of the Iraqi people," said Treasury Secretary John Snow. The $1.74 billion will be transferred to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Of that amount, roughly $1.4 billion will be made available to help the people of Iraq, a senior Treasury official said. Roughly $300 million will be set aside for payments on legal claims by people who say they were victims of the Iraqi regime, the official said. The assets are being held in bank accounts under the names of the Government of Iraq, the Central Bank of Iraq, Rafidain Bank, Rasheed Bank and the State Organization for Marketing Oil. ---- On the Net: Treasury Department: http://www.ustreas.gov/ |
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