[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[July 18, 1994]
[Pages 1269-1272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Congress on Economic Sanctions Against Libya
July 18, 1994

To the Congress of the United States:
    I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last 
report of February 10, 1994, concerning the national emergency with 
respect to Libya that was declared in Executive Order No. 12543 of 
January 7, 1986. This report is submitted pursuant to section 401(c) of 
the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c);

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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 Corporation Act of 1985, 22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c).
    1. As previously reported, on December 2, 1993, I renewed for 
another year the national emergency with respect to Libya pursuant to 
IEEPA. This renewal extended the current comprehensive financial and 
trade embargo against Libya in effect since 1986. Under these sanctions, 
all trade with Libya is prohibited, and all assets owned or controlled 
by the Libyan government in the United States or in the possession or 
control of U.S. persons are blocked. In addition, I have instructed the 
Secretary of Commerce to reinforce our current trade embargo against 
Libya by prohibiting the re-export from foreign countries to Libya of 
certain U.S.-origin products, including equipment for refining and 
transporting oil, unless consistent with United Nations Security Council 
Resolution 883.
    2. There have been two amendments to the Libyan Sanctions 
Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the ``Regulations''), administered by 
the Office of Foreign Assets Control (``FAC'') of the Department of the 
Treasury, since my last report on February 10, 1994. The first amendment 
(59 Fed. Reg. 5105, February 3, 1994) revoked section 550.516, a general 
license that unblocked deposits in currencies other than U.S. dollars 
held by U.S. persons abroad otherwise blocked under the Regulations. 
This amendment is consistent with action by the United Nations Security 
Council in Resolution 883 of November 11, 1993. The Security Council 
determined in that resolution that the continued failure of the 
Government of Libya (``GoL'') to demonstrate by concrete actions its 
renunciation of terrorism, and in particular the GoL's continued failure 
to respond fully and effectively to the requests and decisions of the 
Security Council in Resolutions 731 and 748, concerning the bombing of 
the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 flights, constituted a threat to 
international peace and security. Accordingly, Resolution 883 called 
upon Member States, inter alia, to freeze certain GoL funds or other 
financial resources in their territories, and to ensure that their 
nationals did not make such funds or any other financial resources 
available to the GoL or any Libyan undertaking as defined in the 
resolution. In light of this resolution, FAC revoked section 550.516 to 
eliminate a narrow exception that had existed to the comprehensive 
blocking of GoL property required by Executive Order No. 12544 of 
January 8, 1986 (3 C.F.R., 1986 Comp., p. 183), and by the Regulations. 
A copy of the amendment is attached to this report.
    On March 21, 1994, FAC amended the Regulations to add new entries to 
appendices A and B (59 Fed. Reg. 13210). Appendix A (``Organizations 
Determined to be Within the Term `Government of Libya' (Specially 
Designated Nationals of Libya)'') is a list of organizations determined 
by the Director of FAC to be within the definition of the term 
``Government of Libya'' as set forth in section 550.304(a) of the 
Regulations, because they are owned or controlled by, or act or purport 
to act directly or indirectly on behalf of, the GoL. Appendix B 
(``Individuals Determined to be Specially Designated Nationals of the 
Government of Libya'') lists individuals determined by the Director of 
FAC to be acting or purporting to act directly or indirectly on behalf 
of the GoL, and thus to fall within the definition of the term 
``Government of Libya'' in section 550.304(a).
    Appendix A to part 550 was amended to provide public notice of the 
designation of North Africa International Bank as a Specially Designated 
National (``SDN'') of Libya. Appendix A was further amended to add new 
entries for four banks previously listed in Appendix A under other 
names. These banks are Banque Commerciale du Niger (formerly Banque 
Arabe Libyenne Nigerienne pour le Commerce Exterieur et le 
Developpement), Banque Commerciale du Sahel (formerly Banque Arabe 
Libyenne Malienne pour le Commerce Exterieur et le Developpement), 
Chinguetty Bank (formerly Banque Arabe Libyenne Mauritanienne pour le 
Commerce Exterieur et le Developpement), and Societe Interaffricaine du 
Banque (formerly Banque Arabe Libyenne Togolaise pour le Commerce 
Exterieur). These banks remain listed in Appendix A under their former 
names as well.
    Appendix B to Part 550 was amended to provide public notice of three 
individuals determined to be SDNs of the GoL: Seddigh Al Kabir, Mustafa 
Saleh Gibril, and Farag Al Amin Shallouf. Each of these three 
individuals is a Libyan national who occupies a central management 
position in a Libyan SDN financial institution.
    All prohibitions in the Regulations pertaining to the GoL apply to 
the entities and individuals

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identified in appendices A and B. All unlicensed transactions with such 
entities or persons, or transactions in which they have an interest, are 
prohibited unless otherwise exempted or generally licensed in the 
Regulations. A copy of the amendment is attached to this report.
    3. During the current 6-month period, FAC made numerous decisions 
with respect to applications for licenses to engage in transactions 
under the Regulations, issuing 69 licensing determinations--both 
approvals and denials. Consistent with FAC's ongoing scrutiny of banking 
transactions, the largest category of license approvals (33) concerned 
requests by non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock bank accounts 
initially blocked because of an apparent GoL interest. The largest 
category of denials (18) was for banking transactions in which FAC found 
a GoL interest. Four licenses were issued authorizing intellectual 
property protection in Libya.
    4. During the current 6-month period, FAC continued to emphasize to 
the international banking community in the United States the importance 
of identifying and blocking payments made by or on behalf of Libya. The 
FAC worked closely with the banks to implement new interdiction software 
systems to identify such payments. As a result, during the reporting 
period, more than 126 transactions involving Libya, totaling more than 
$14.7 million, were blocked. Four of these transactions were 
subsequently licensed to be released, leaving a net amount of more than 
$12.7 million blocked.
    Since my last report, FAC collected 15 civil monetary penalties 
totaling nearly $144,000 for violations of the U.S. sanctions against 
Libya. Twelve of the violations involved the failure of banks to block 
funds transfers to Libyan-owned or -controlled banks. The other three 
penalties were received for violations involving letter of credit and 
export transactions.
    Various enforcement actions carried over from previous reporting 
periods have continued to be aggressively pursued. Open cases as of May 
27, 1994, totaled 330. Several new investigations of potentially 
significant violations of the Libyan sanctions have been initiated by 
FAC and cooperating U.S. law enforcement agencies, primarily the U.S. 
Customs Service. Many of these cases are believed to involve complex 
conspiracies to circumvent the various prohibitions of the Libyan 
sanctions, as well as the utilization of international diversionary 
shipping routes to and from Libya. The FAC has continued to work closely 
with the Departments of State and Justice to identify U.S. persons who 
enter into contracts or agreements with the GoL, or other third-country 
parties, to lobby United States Government officials and to engage in 
public relations work on behalf of the GoL without FAC authorization.
    On May 4, 1994, FAC released a chart, ``Libya's International 
Banking Connections,'' which highlights the Libyan government's 
organizational relationship to 102 banks and other financial entities 
located in 40 countries worldwide. The chart provides a detailed look at 
current Libyan shareholdings and key Libyan officers in the complex web 
of financial institutions in which Libya has become involved, some of 
which are used by Libya to circumvent U.S. and U.N. sanctions. Twenty-
six of the institutions depicted on the chart have been determined by 
FAC to be SDNs of Libya. In addition, the chart identifies 19 individual 
Libyan bank officers who have been determined to be Libyan SDNs. A copy 
of the chart is attached to this report.
    In addition, on May 4, 1994, FAC announced the addition of five 
entities and nine individuals to the list of SNDs of Libya. The five 
entities added to the SND list are: Arab Turkish Bank, Libya Insurance 
Company, Maghreban International Trade Company, Saving and Real Estate 
Investment Bank, and Societe Maghrebine D'Investissement et de 
Participation. The nine individuals named in the notice are: Yousef Abd-
El-Razegh Abdelmulla, Ayad S. Dahaim, El Hadi M. El-Fighi, Kamel El-
Khallas, Mohammed Mustafa Ghadban, Mohammed Lahmar, Ragiab Saad Madi, 
Bashir M. Sharif, and Kassem M. Sherlala. All prohibitions in the 
Regulations pertaining to the GoL apply to the entities and individuals 
identified in the notice issued on May 4, 1994. All unlicensed 
transactions with such entities or persons, or transactions in which 
they have an interest, are prohibited unless otherwise exempt or 
generally licensed in the Regulations. A copy of the notice is attached 
to this report.
    The FAC also continued its efforts under the Operation Roadblock 
initiative. This ongoing program seeks to identify U.S. persons who 
travel to and/or work in Libya in violation of U.S. law.
    5. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month 
period from January

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7, 1994, through July 6, 1994, that are directly attributable to the 
exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the declaration of the 
Libyan national emergency are estimated at approximately $1 million. 
Personnel costs were largely centered in the Department of the Treasury 
(particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Office of the 
General Counsel, and the U.S. Customs Service), the Department of State, 
and the Department of Commerce.
    6. The policies and actions of the GoL continue to pose an unusual 
and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of 
the United States. The United States continues to believe that still 
stronger international measures than those mandated by the United 
Nations Security Council Resolution 883, including a worldwide oil 
embargo, should be enacted if Libya continues to defy the international 
community. We remain determined to ensure that the perpetrators of the 
terrorists acts against Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 are brought to justice. 
The families of the victims in the murderous Lockerbie bombing and other 
acts of Libyan terrorism deserve nothing less. I shall continue to 
exercise the powers at my disposal to apply economic sanctions against 
Libya fully and effectively, so long as those measures are appropriate, 
and will continue to report periodically to the Congress on significant 
developments as required by law.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,

July 18, 1994.