Monday, February 6, 1995

 

ISSN: 0511-4187; Volume v31; Issue n5

 

Message to the Congress on Libya. (Bill Clinton) (Transcript)

Total number of pages for this article: 3 FULL TEXT

 

 

��January 31, 1995

 

 

� To the Congress of the United States:

 

 

� I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last

report of July 18, 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); 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. On December 22, 1994, 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.

 

 

� 2. There has been one amendment 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 July 18, 1994. The amendment (59 Fed. Reg. 51106, October

7, 1994) identified Arab Hellenic Bank (AHB), an Athens-based financial

institution, 4 other entities, and 10 individuals as Specially

Designated Nationals (SDNs) of Libya. (In addition to the recent SDN

action against AHB, the Greek central bank has recently announced that

AHB's banking license has been revoked.) Included among the individuals

are three Italian shareholders in Oil invest (Netherlands) B.V., who

increased their positions in the Libyan government-controlled firm

shortly before United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 883

directed a freeze on certain Libyan assets owned or controlled by the

Government or public authorities of Libya.

 

 

� Pursuant to section 550.304(a) of the Regulations, FAC has determined

that these entities and individuals designated as SDNs are owned or

controlled by, or acting or purporting to act directly or indirectly on

behalf of, the Government of Libya, or are agencies, instrumentalities,

or entities of that government. By virtue of this determination, all

property and interests in property of these entities or persons that are

in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are

blocked. Further, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in

transactions with these individuals or entities unless the transactions

are licensed by FAC. The designations were made in consultation with the

Department of State and announced by FAC in notices issued on June 17

and July 22 and 25, 1994. 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 136 licensing determinations - both approvals and

denials. Consistent with FAC's ongoing scrutiny of banking transactions,

the largest category of license approvals (73) concerned requests by

non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock bank accounts initially

blocked because of an apparent Government of Libya interest. The largest

category of denials (41) was for banking transactions in which FAC found

a Government of Libya interest. Three licenses were issued authorizing

intellectual property protection in Libya.

 

 

� In addition, FAC issued eight determinations with respect to

applications from attorneys to receive fees and reimbursement of

expenses for provision of legal services to the Government of Libya in

connection with wrongful death civil actions arising from the Pan Am 103

bombing. Civil suits have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the

District of Columbia and in the Southern District of New York.

Representation of the Government of Libya when named as a defendant in

or otherwise made a party to domestic U.S. legal proceedings is

authorized by section 550.517(b)(2) of the Regulations under certain

conditions.

 

 

� 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 210 transactions involving Libya, totaling more than

$14.8 million, were blocked. As of December 9, 1994, 13 of these

transactions had been licensed to be released, leaving a net amount of

more than $14.5 million blocked.

 

 

� Since my last report, FAC collected 15 civil monetary penalties

totaling more than $76,000 for violations of the U.S. sanctions against

Libya. Nine of the violations involved the failure of banks to block

funds transfers to Libyan-owned or -controlled banks. Two other

penalties were received for corporate export violations. Four additional

penalties were paid by U.S. citizens engaging in Libyan oilfield-related

transactions while another 76 cases of similar violations are in active

penalty processing.

 

 

� In October 1994, two U.S. businessmen, two U.S. corporations, and

several foreign corporations were indicted by a Federal grand jury in

Connecticut on three counts of violating the Regulations and IEEPA for

their roles in the illegal exportation of U.S. origin fuel pumps to

Libya. Various enforcement actions carried over from previous reporting

periods have continued to be aggressively pursued. The FAC has 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.

 

 

� 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

Government of Libya, or other third-country parties, to lobby United

States Government officials or to engage in public relations work on

behalf of the Government of Libya without FAC authorization. In

addition, during the period FAC hosted or attended several bilateral and

multilateral meetings with foreign sanctions authorities, as well as

with private foreign institutions, to consult on issues of mutual

interest and to encourage strict adherence to the U.N.-mandated

sanctions.

 

 

� 5. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month

period from July 7, 1994, through January 6, 1995, that are directly

attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the

declaration of the Libyan national emergency are estimated at

approximately $1.4 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 Government of Libya continue to

pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and

foreign policy of the United States. In adopting UNSCR 883 in November

1993, the Security Council determined that the continued failure of the

Government of Libya to demonstrate by concrete actions its renunciation

of terrorism, and in particular its continued failure to respond fully

and effectively to the requests and decisions of the Security Council in

UNSCRs 731 and 748, concerning the bombing of the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772

flights, constituted a threat to international peace and security. The

United States continues to believe that still stronger international

measures than those mandated by UNSCR 883, possibly including a

worldwide oil embargo, should be imposed if Libya continues to defy the

will of the international community as expressed in UNSCR 731. We remain

determined to ensure that the perpetrators of the terrorist 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, January 30, 1995.