Show me the Money..

[cadaver queen]

Kenneth Dam...Dept .Secretary of the Treasury was on Charlie Rose this week and the interview left me with a few questions..

1)The money suspected to have been raised by terrorists and frozen by the U.S., where is the money headed to(eventually)..
a) Does the U.S have to give an accounting of the expenditures or does it go into a communal counterterrorism fund?
b)Can the U.S. only claim what is suspect in her institutions or can she lay monetary claim to a portion of the seized funds over seas?
c)Is there a budget for the coalition against terrorism (I am not including the U.N.)and would some of the money go to achieve some of the common goals ? Or are we doing this "in pot luck " where everyone brings something to the table?
d)Germany, Italian and the Swiss have frozen accounts on their soil and institutions , does this mean the money is theirs?What is the procedure for dispersal?
2) Will the International Community at large want the U.N Security Council to play a bigger role in the fight against terrorism rather than the coalition?

I have more questions but this is a good place to start..Thank you for listening and look forward to reading your replies..CQ

 

[Gram123]

Hey CQ.

Well, my understanding of it would have been that if funds are "frozen" then they are held until the suspects are judged to be guilty or innocent. Perhaps this is not the case. I found this:

Suing terrorist states for damages is a recent phenomenon, the product of an anti-terrorism bill signed in 1996 by President Clinton. Since then, hundreds of millions of damages have been awarded against states such as Iran by federal judges, though only a few legal actions have netted payments. The State Department currently lists six other states — Iraq, Libya, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea and Syria — as being linked to terrorists, and therefore suable.
Last year Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which officially allows frozen funds to be disbursed to those who have won judgments against terrorist organizations.
The family of Alisa Flatlow, a New Jersey girl killed by a suicide bomber in Israel in 1995 in an attack coordinated from Tehran, collected $26 million in seized Iranian funds. Journalist Terry Anderson, who was held in Lebanon for six years by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, reportedly got close to $100 million.

The rest of the article can be found here

HTH

Gram

 

[cadaver queen]

Gram123,
I can always count on you!! Thank you for article and site!!
CQ

 

[Gram123]

No probs CQ.
It's an interesting point, though, especially with regard to the amounts the families of victims were reportedly given.
I presume Afghanistan will have since been added to the list.

Does this mean the families of victims of the WTC could be compensated from the frozen Al Qa'ida (sp?) assets?

Gram

 

[cadaver queen]

Gram123,
My family has one more funeral to plan. The lawyers (and I use the term loosely...Sorry, G'+Mulder) but did all but crawl in to the hearse at 3 of the funerals..The families have retained counsel just to keep from being deluged with everything..
I know there have been discussions about what they need to plan for but the day to day activities are still the hardest...Any other topics aren't really discussed .The children are just know learning to sleep in their own beds and thru the night..One step at a time..
I am sorry .I don't know more than that about recompensation but I don't believe it will happen before the end of this decade..

 

[Gram123]

Apologies if I came across as insensitive, CQ, and condolences for the losses that affected you and anyone else reading.

Gram

 

[cadaver queen]

Gram123,
You weren't and I didn't take it that way!!I just have a different
way of looking at what is going on right now..I did not bring that up with the intention of making you feel bad..
When WTC is mentioned ,I think... family and how it feels like a long time ago and just yesterday in the same breath.I don't have perspective on this so forgive me..

Back to the Topic..

 

[eggplant43]

I do not have specifics at this time, but can tell you what I've heard and believe. First and foremost, the legal profession, and courts will play the biggest role in these matters.

Victims legally have a right to claim compensation from those that have harmed them in civil court. Clearly, there are many victims, not just the surviving family members. In addition businesses that have had to close, businesses that have suffered financial loss, insurance companies, rescue workers who have been hurt as a consequence of their involvement in the rescues. This could go on for many years with things like PTSD claims etc. The legal system will simply have to sort it out. The one thing for sure is that attorneys will be busy for years to come.

I believe that the US can lay claim to foreign funds. But again it depends upon treaty agreements (ie. the lost art, and monies stolen during WWII) and finally reluctantly being compensated 50+ years later.

I think that the big picture here is that many entities can lay claim to any funds due to their documented loss, it will be up to treaties, laws, and judicial systems to determine who is entitled to compensation, and whose claims hold precedence.

The good news is that the public has rallied to the needs of the survivors, and there may be many amounts of funds available to people with less strings attached. Of course, there is always room for abuse, thievery, etc., so that will play a role as well.

I'm really not sure whether this will be Coalition centric, or whether a more recognized international body will play the greatest role in anti-terrorism. It is a dynamic situation that will have it's own ebb and flow.

I will do more research, and see if I can't find more specific answers.

 

[cadaver queen]

The reason I asked about this issue is it was reported that the money was seized or in the process all over the world but there wasn't much mentioned on where the money would ultimately go.
I always believed the various governments would allocate the funds to fight this growing threat, I just wondered by which body of laws would govern the outcome of the dispersal..

 

[eggplant43]

I don't think the governments can legally do so. The other claims will take precedence, but I could be wrong.

 

[cadaver queen]

If there are funds frozen all over the the International Community
who oversees everything?
I guess I will have to ask the lawyers the lawsuit questions..I know the criminal trial of the terrorist involved in the Lockerbee(sp) incident just wrapped up(at least on the criminal angle)recently..Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the U.S. sue Libya over it's involvement?Did they claim any damages??

 

[eggplant43]

Perhaps you can find the answer here. I didn't see mention of it on the page, but you could join a discussion group there:


http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5260/headpage.html

 

[cadaver queen]

Eggplant43,
Thank you ..