Joe Biden wants one half of this sum, so far filed in the United States, be reserved for claims, made in particular by families of victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Le Monde with AFP
The US president delivered Friday 11 February to an unusual maneuver. Joe Biden signed a decree allowing the seizure of $ 7 billion (€ 6.14 billion) of reserves from the Afghan Central Bank filed in the United States, announced the White House.
The US president, using the “extraordinary economic powers” given by a 1977 law, intends to transfer these assets to a blocked account from the New York Federal Reserve, a public institution, said the White House. The assets of central banks are most often financial, currencies or gold.
The US chief of state means that one half of these 7 billion be reserved for claims for compensation, made in particular by families of victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Joe Biden plans the other half either devoted to humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, but paid so that money does not fall to the Taliban hands.
“It is very important to be able to both take $ 3.5 billion and ensure that they are used for the benefit of the Afghan people” and also to guarantee that families of victims of terrorism “can To be heard “In front of the US federal justice, explained a senior head of the White House at a press conference. Clearly, it is a question of reserveing about this half of the funds pending the outcome of the judicial proceedings brought by these families, who claim the seizure of Afghan assets.
A long process of several months.
The senior head of the White House, who wished to remain anonymous, acknowledged that the situation was “legally complicated”, and argued that Friday announcement was only the beginning of a procedure that should last months.
The Taliban asked to take control of the reserves of the Afghan Central Bank, and Russia, in particular, urged the United States to unlock these assets. In total, the raw reserves of the Central Bank of Afghanistan amounted to the end of April 2021 to $ 9.4 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund. This sum, deposited before the Taliban returned to power last August, is held mainly abroad, and for most in the United States.
Certainly aware of the controversy that the decision will not fail to arouse, those responsible for the White House ensured that these reserves of the Afghan Central Bank “came from continuous and significant assistance [to Afghanistan]. United and other international donors for two decades “.
The American Executive also recalled that the United States was already the main provider of aid to Afghanistan, and assured that this bilateral aid remained distinct from the gel procedure of the Assets of the Afghan Central Bank. “This decree will make it possible to keep a substantial part of Afghanistan reserves for the benefit of the Afghan people, but we understand that the economic problems of Afghanistan, exacerbated by taking power by the Taliban, can not be resolved. Simple, “said the White House in a statement.