Executive Order on Protecting Certain Property of Da Afghanistan Bank for the Benefit of the People of Afghanistan
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that the widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan — including the urgent needs of the people of Afghanistan for food security, livelihoods support, water, sanitation, health, hygiene, shelter and settlement assistance, and COVID-19-related assistance, among other basic human needs — and the potential for a deepening economic collapse in Afghanistan constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of...
1) This is a highly unusual executive order, applying to a single entity of which the status as a sanctioned entity had been unclear as of the date of the issuance of the order. More specifically, OFAC had not clarified whether the Taliban [SDGT] has an “interest” in all transactions and property of the Central Bank of Afghanistan (but see further below). As it relates to “property held…in the United States by any United States financial institution, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” this EO provides that the covered property is blocked notwithstanding the potential applicability of the GTSR. Note that this EO does not actually block the Central Bank of Afghanistan, or otherwise prohibit dealings involving the Central Bank of Afghanistan that do not involve property held by U.S. banks, so the question of whether...