McHenry, Huizenga, Luetkemeyer Demand Treasury Produce Records on Status of Sanctions Against Iran

Cmte Financial Services (R)
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McHenry, Huizenga, Luetkemeyer Demand Treasury Produce Records on Status of Sanctions Against Iran

The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-04), and National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding information and records regarding the actions taken by the Biden Administration to allow the Iranian regime easier access to its $6 billion of restricted funds in exchange for the release of American prisoners and $10 billion paid by Iraq in exchange for Iranian electricity.

“On October 7, 2023, we awoke to the news that Hamas perpetrated an unimaginably brutal terrorist attack in Israel. The death toll of the attack currently stands at more than 1,400 lives, including 30 Americans, and thousands more wounded. The terrorists kidnapped women, children, and the elderly; they burned families and beheaded babies. The attack was carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas, but not Hamas alone. In the days since, Hamas has publicly claimed that the Iranian regime helped plot the attack.

“The attack raises serious questions about the Biden Administration’s Iran’s sanctions policy. Most recently the Administration allowed the transfer of $6 billion to a Qatari bank from South Korea as a part of the ransom payment paid to the Iranian regime in exchange for American hostages. Since the attack in Israel, Administration spokesmen have claimed that the money can only be spent on humanitarian needs and can only be paid to certain vendors. Putting aside questions of due diligence and fund monitoring, if it is to be believed that the Iranian regime will never receive this money as cash, money is fungible. This $6 billion allows the Iranian regime to free up what little foreign exchange reserves it had allocated for food and medicine to now devote to financial support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations. Even if the money is used to buy medicine, the medicine will likely find its way into corrupt channels and go to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or Hamas—both U.S. designated foreign terrorist organizations.

“For years the Iraqi government has paid for its natural gas from Iran by fulfilling debts owed by Iran to other countries. For example, ‘since last December, the U.S. has approved €2.5 billion, equivalent to $2.7 billion, in payments by the Iraqi government to Iranian creditors. The payments included €886 million to Turkmenistan, partially repaying a debt owed by Iran….’ This summer, the Biden Administration ‘unfroze more than $10 billion of Iranian assets held in Iraq, allowing Baghdad to move payments for Iranian electricity into accounts in Oman established for Tehran’s use – payments that will continue on a rolling basis.’

“Separately, the Biden Administration is also allowing Iranian oil exports to continually increase. Some experts estimate that Iranian regime is exporting anywhere between 1.4 to 2.2 million barrels per day to China. The sanctions relief from the oil exports to China could be valued as high as $25 billion. We cannot be naïve to assume that the diplomatic benefit of taking our foot off the gas on Iranian sanctions will outweigh the cost of their support for terrorism.

“Any money the Iranian regime can obtain —whether through its oil exports or by gaining access through sanctions relief—will be immediately repurposed to fund terrorism. According to the U.S Department of the Treasury’s own Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force has moved tens of millions of dollars—if not hundreds of millions of dollars—to Hamas. The Biden Administration has exacerbated the situation by failing to apply sufficient pressure to the Iranian regime. Instead, it has allowed the Iranian regime to access more capital to fund terrorism around the world. Now we are dealing with the consequences.”