Message to the Congress on Economic Sanctions Against Libya

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); 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 etle 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 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 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.