[House Document 107-161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-161


 
               PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY
                         WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 A SIX MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO 
 LIBYA THAT WAS DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 12543 OF JANUARY 7, 1986, 
          PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1641(c) AND 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)




January 23, 2002.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed


                                           The White House,
                                       Washington, January 3, 2002.

Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Mr. Speaker: As required by section 401(c) of the 
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c) 
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 
U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit herewith a 6-month periodic report 
on the national emergency with respect to Libya that was 
declared in Executive Order 12543 of January 7, 1986.

            Sincerely,
                                                    George W. Bush.

    Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to Libya

    I hereby report to the Congress on developments over the 
course of the past 6 months concerning the national emergency 
with respect to Libya that was declared in Executive Order 
12543 of January 7, 1986. This report, based on information 
provided by relevant sources, is submitted pursuant to section 
401(c) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c); 
section 204(c) of the International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act (``IEEPA''), 50 U.S.C. 1703(c); and section 505(c) of the 
International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985, 
22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c).
    1. Amendments have been promulgated to the Libyan Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 CFR Part 550 (the ``Regulations''), in order to 
conform the Regulations to the Trade Sanctions Reform and 
Export Enhancement Act of 2000, Title IX of Public Law 106-387 
(October 28, 2000) (the ``Trade Act''). These amendments were 
published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2001, (66 FR 
36683, July 12, 2001). A copy of the amendments is attached.
    2. During the current reporting period, OFAC reviewed 
numerous applications for licenses to authorize transactions 
under the Regulations. Consistent with OFAC's ongoing scrutiny 
of banking transactions, the largest category of authorizations 
(40) involved types of financial transactions that are 
consistent with U.S. policy. Most of these licenses authorize 
remittances between persons who are not blocked parties to flow 
through Libyan banks located outside Libya. Ten licenses were 
issued authorizing the commercial sale and exportation of bulk 
agricultural commodities and six for medicine or medical 
equipment. Seven licenses authorizing certain legal services 
were also issued. Finally, two licenses were issued authorizing 
travel transactions to and within Libya; one license for the 
provision of banking services was also authorized. As of 
November 6, 2001, a total of 66 licenses had been issued during 
the reporting period.
    3. OFAC continues to emphasize to the international banking 
community in the United States the importance of identifying 
and blocking payments made by or on behalf of the Government of 
Libya. OFAC worked closely with banks to assure the 
effectiveness of interdiction software systems used to identify 
such payments. As of November 2, 2001, 80 transactions, 
totaling more than $3.8 million, were blocked during this 
reporting period. Under the Regulations, unauthorized 
commercial funds transfers involving Libya must be returned to 
the remitters without further processing, rather than blocked, 
where there is no blockable interest of theGovernment of Libya. 
During the reporting period, 103 transactions were rejected, without 
further processing, by U.S. banks causing a disruption of more than $10 
million in financial dealings involving Libya.
    4. Since my last report, OFAC has collected eight civil 
monetary penalties totaling nearly $58,000 for violations of 
IEEPA and the Regulations from three U.S. financial 
institutions, one carrier, and four companies. Two of the 
companies remitted penalties as part of plea agreements with 
the Department of Justice. An additional 36 cases are 
undergoing penalty action for violation of IEEPA and the 
Regulations.
    5. On August 8, 2001, the President and Vice President of a 
Houston, Texas, corporation entered guilty pleas to charges 
outlined in a one-count criminal information filed in the 
illegal transshipment in 1995 of concrete pipe coating material 
to Libya for use on the Great Man Made River Project 
(``CMMRP''). Each defendant was sentenced to 3 years probation 
and each paid a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $5,000 
to OFAC. The defendants were originally named in a multiple 
count criminal indictment in April 2000 charging violations of 
the Regulations, IEEPA, and other federal statutes for 
transactions in furtherance of a multimillion-dollar contract 
to supply pipe coating material for the GMMRP in Libya. All of 
these transactions occurred without a specific license from 
OFAC. In addition to the criminal prosecution, the Department 
of Justice proceeded with criminal forfeiture against the 
defendants in this case. Other enforcement actions carried over 
from previous reporting periods continue and new reports of 
alleged violations are being aggressively pursued.
    On September 17, 2001, the U.S. District Court for the 
Southern District of Texas granted the government's motion for 
summary judgment in the case Vitol, S.A. v. U.S. Dep't. of the 
Treasury, et al. The plaintiff, Vitol, S.A., challenged the 
government's 1994 blocking of approximately 350,000 barrels of 
Libyan-origin fuel oil. In granting the government's motion, 
the Court affirmed the blocking based on the government's 
reasonable determination that a U.S. person has constructive 
possession or control of the oil at a time when the Government 
of Libya held a blockage interest in the property.
    6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 
6-month period from July 7, 2001, through January 6, 2002, that 
are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and 
authorities conferred by the declaration of a national 
emergency with respect to Libya, are reported to be more than 
$410,000, most of which represent wage and salary costs for 
Federal personnel. Personnel costs were largely centered in the 
Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office of 
Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Customs Service, the Office of 
the Under Secretary for Enforcement, and the Office of the 
General Counsel) and the Departments of State and Commerce.
    7. Despite the U.N. Security Council's suspension of U.N. 
sanctions against Libya upon the Libyan government hand over of 
the Pan Am 103 bombing suspects in April 1999, and a Scottish 
court's conviction of one suspect on January 31, 2001, Libya 
has not yet complied with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 731 
(1992), 748 (1992), and 883 (1993), including Libya's 
obligation to accept responsibility for the actions of Libyan 
officials and to pay appropriate compensation. Libya continues 
to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national 
security and foreign policy interests of the United States and 
U.S. economic sanctions will, therefore, remain in force.



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