{"id":9480,"date":"2022-03-01T13:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charityandsecurity.org\/?p=9480"},"modified":"2022-04-05T13:01:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T17:01:35","slug":"new-general-license-allows-transactions-with-afghan-government-institutions-including-afghanistans-central-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charityandsecurity.org\/news\/new-general-license-allows-transactions-with-afghan-government-institutions-including-afghanistans-central-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"New General License Allows Transactions with Afghan Government Institutions, Including Afghanistan\u2019s Central Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Feb. 25, Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued <\/span>General License 20<\/span><\/a>: Authorizing Transactions Involving Afghanistan or Governing Institutions in Afghanistan, as well as <\/span>new FAQ<\/span>s<\/span> and <\/span>updated FAQs<\/span><\/a> related to Afghanistan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The general license (GL) authorizes \u201call transactions involving Afghanistan or governing institutions in Afghanistan,\u201d with the exception of \u201cFinancial transfers to the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, any entity in which the Taliban or the Haqqani Network owns, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest, or any blocked individual who is in a leadership role of a governing institution in Afghanistan, other than for the purpose of effecting the payment of taxes, fees, or import duties, or the purchase or receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services, provided that such payments do not relate to luxury items or services.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, the GL authorizes all transactions to Afghanistan and its governing institutions provided those transactions do not involve financial transfers to the Taliban or the Haqqani Network – the groups specifically targeted in U.S. sanctions. However, it does allow for the payment of taxes, fees, duties, permits, licenses, and utilities to the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, so long as such payments are not for luxury items or services. This recognizes that there are some minimal transactions that are often necessary to facilitate essential humanitarian and other civil society services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This GL represents a broader approach by the administration than it has taken with previous Afghanistan GLs, allowing a broad range of transactions in Afghanistan that are often prohibited in sanctioned contexts, and comes as a welcome step for civil society organizations operating in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the GL explicitly notes that it does not reflect a change in the U.S. position on Afghanistan\u2019s foreign reserves held in the U.S., which the administration has <\/span>set aside<\/span><\/a> with the intention of making half of those funds available for humanitarian purposes, and half of them available, pending litigation, for the families of 9\/11 victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

As is OFAC\u2019s practice, alongside General License 20, Treasury published several <\/span>new FAQs<\/span>, and <\/span>updated earlier FAQs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of particular note is <\/span>FAQ 995<\/span><\/a>, which \u201cauthorizes financial transfers to or involving all governing institutions in Afghanistan \u2014 including but not limited to the DAB [Central Bank of Afghanistan (Da Afghanistan Bank)], Ministry of Education, Ministry of Energy and Water, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, and Ministry of Public Health\u2026 OFAC does not view financial transfers to governing institutions in Afghanistan or state-owned or -controlled companies and enterprises in Afghanistan as financial transfers to the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, any entity in which the Taliban or the Haqqani Network owns, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest, or any blocked individual who is in a leadership role of a governing institution in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Experts at the <\/span>United Nations<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>aid groups<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>human rights<\/span><\/a> groups have cited the freezing of Afghanistan\u2019s foreign reserves as a major contributor to Afghanistan\u2019s humanitarian crisis, as well as a major impediment to an effective humanitarian response. In a story responding to this latest general license, the New York Times <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that \u201cthe U.S. government had been exploring ideas for restarting some normal central bank activities if the bank can be made truly independent, with controls to prevent money laundering and third-party monitoring.\u201d What exactly that might look like, particularly if the Afghanistan Central Bank\u2019s access to its foreign reserves remains blocked, is an open question.<\/span><\/p>\n

C&SN will continue to monitor and report on the situation in Afghanistan with respect to the ability of civil society organizations to operate effective programs to address the current crisis in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Feb. 25, Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 20: Authorizing Transactions Involving Afghanistan or Governing Institutions in Afghanistan, as well as new FAQs and updated FAQs related to Afghanistan. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,5,71,69,41,72],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew General License Allows Transactions with Afghan Government Institutions, Including Afghanistan\u2019s Central Bank - Charity & Security Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charityandsecurity.org\/news\/new-general-license-allows-transactions-with-afghan-government-institutions-including-afghanistans-central-bank\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New General License Allows Transactions with Afghan Government Institutions, Including Afghanistan\u2019s Central Bank - Charity & Security Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Feb. 25, Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 20: Authorizing Transactions Involving Afghanistan or Governing Institutions in Afghanistan, as well as new FAQs and updated FAQs related to Afghanistan. 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