US Treasury Freezes Billions In Afghan Reserves Blocking The Taliban From Seizing The Country’s Wealth

Washington Post: Biden administration freezes billions of dollars in Afghan reserves, depriving Taliban of cash 

The move comes as the White House has scrambled to redraw its Afghanistan policies 

The Biden administration on Sunday froze Afghan government reserves held in U.S. bank accounts, blocking the Taliban from accessing billions of dollars held in U.S. institutions, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

The decision was made by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and officials in the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the people said. The State Department was also involved in discussions over the weekend, with officials in the White House monitoring the developments. 

An administration official said in a statement, “Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.” The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss government policy not yet made public. 

Cutting off access to U.S.-based reserves represents among the first in what are expected to be several crucial decisions facing the Biden administration about the economic fate of that nation following the Taliban takeover. 

Afghanistan is already one of the poorest countries in the world and is highly dependent on American aid that is now in jeopardy. The Biden administration is also likely to face hard choices over how to manage existing sanctions on the Taliban, which may make it difficult to deliver international humanitarian assistance to a population facing ruin, experts say. 

Asked Tuesday what leverage the United States would have over the Taliban going forward, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that “there are obviously issues related to sanctions” but declined to elaborate. He also said the administration would first communicate directly with the Taliban.  

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WNU Editor: This was not an easy decision. This money is used to help half of the Afghan population that is dependent on aid from their government. But the Taliban have no credibility on what will they do with this money, hence this freeze. 

I also expect wide ranging sanctions will be imposed in the coming days. 

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ANALYSIS-Afghan central bank's $10 billion stash not all within reach of Taliban -- Reuters 

US Treasury Freezes Billions In Afghan Reserves, Depriving Taliban Of Cash -- Zero Hedge