[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.