“There are a number of reasons why these reserves remain inaccessible. First and foremost, the status of the funds is the subject of ongoing litigation, brought by certain victims of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks to hold judgments against the Taliban. These legal proceedings cannot be disregarded and have led to the temporary suspension of any movement of the funds through at least the end of the year and quite possibly longer. Second, the United States continues to face difficult fundamental questions about how it might be able to make reserve funds available to directly benefit the people of Afghanistan while ensuring that the funds do not benefit the Taliban. And, obviously, our objective as one of the world's biggest providers of humanitarian assistance is to get that assistance directly to the people. It is difficult to determine how that would not go through - would not benefit the Taliban as it relates to these funds. Third, the Taliban remain sanctioned by the United States as a specially designated global terrorist group, and a number of its officials are subject to the UN - UNSCR's 1988 sanctions regime. This raises immediate red flags for many states' central banks and the financial community more generally when considering any transactions.”
13 Dec 2021
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