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March 07, 2008 Rep. Kirk follows the money that fuels terrorSenator Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been relentless in his mission to "follow the money" that fuels terrorism. In addition to his efforts to focus more scrunity on how U.S. dollars are being used to pay for UNRA hate-education in the Palestian territories, Kirk leads Congress in pressuring the World Bank to stop the flow of money to Iran. Here is his latest letter to the Bank's President. Representative Mark Kirk sent the following letter today to World Bank President Robert Zoellick regarding Bank disbursements to Iran. With this week's UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran, and the designation of Bank Melli as a terrorist-financing institution, Congressman Kirk calls for the World Bank to identify which institutions are now used to distribute funds. March 6, 2008 President Robert Zoellick The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Dear President Zoellick: As you know, the World Bank is currently operating nine projects in Iran totaling $1.355 billion - including one project in Isfahan, the headquarters of Iran's nuclear program. On October 25, 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Iran's Bank Melli as a terrorist-financing institution and froze its U.S. assets. The New York Times reported on November 3, 2007 that the World Bank was using Bank Melli as the financial institution to transfer Bank funds to the Government of Iran. On February 2, 2008, the World Bank's Web site posted:
Over the last several weeks, my office repeatedly asked the World Bank staff to disclose which financial institution replaced Bank Melli as the conduit for World Bank disbursements to Iran. To date, my office has not received an answer. Furthermore, the U.S. Executive Director's office at the World Bank informed me that it has "no access" to this information. On February 25, 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported:
This week, the U.N. Security Council passed its third sanctions resolution against Iran. The resolution included the following article:
The United States remains the top investor in the World Bank, contributing $950 million in 2006, $940 million in 2007 and another $942 million scheduled for 2008. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, which funds the U.S. contribution to the World Bank, I would like to know how the Bank will comply with Article 10 of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1803. It would appear the Bank should disclose to its Executive Directors the identities of the financial intermediaries used by Bank staff to transfer funding from the Bank to the Finance Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition, 26 members of the United States Senate recently urged the U.S. Government to designate the Central Bank of Iran, Bank Markazi, as a terror-financing institution. Press reports indicate the U.S. Government may take such action. Should this decision be made, I would also ask how and with whom the Bank staff would transfer funds to Iran in a manner that complied with U.S. laws and regulation. Sincerely, Mark Steven Kirk Member of Congress |
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