FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Today the Treasury Department signed licenses unblocking the assets of three Afghan entities that had been frozen under Executive Order 13129 to prevent their use by the Taliban. The licenses, signed by Richard Newcomb, Director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, released $16.8 million in assets belonging to Pashtany Tejaraty Bank, Afghan National Credit and Finance and Halmund-Arghandab Construction Company. The licenses were issued after consultations with the new Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) to determine that the entities were free from Taliban control.

The assets had been blocked under the 1999 Executive Order that froze all assets associated with the Taliban regime. The Taliban, who seized control of Kabul in 1996, were not recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan by the United States or the United Nations.

"This is how the blocking system was designed to work," said Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. "The blocked assets are held until a recognized regime is in place and the funds can be directed back to the legitimate holders."

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