U.S. issues general licenses allowing personal remittances to flow to Afghanistan

Sherritt International

10/12/2021 18:37

By Daphne Psaledakis and Jonathan Landay
    WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday
formalized guidance allowing personal remittances to flow to
Afghanistan, providing protection to senders and financial
institutions from U.S. sanctions on the Taliban as the country
faces a deepening humanitarian crisis.
    The Treasury Department issued a general license authorizing
transactions involving the U.S.-blacklisted Taliban or Haqqani
Network that are incident and necessary to the transfer of
noncommercial, personal remittances to Afghanistan, including
through Afghan depository institutions.
    The license, which formalizes existing guidance given to
financial institutions, is being implemented in an effort to
ensure people can continue to send support to their families in
Afghanistan, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters. 
    Remittances from family and friends abroad have become
critical lifelines for numerous Afghans struggling to buy food
and meet other expenses amid an economic crisis that accelerated
when the Taliban seized power in August as the former
Western-backed government collapsed and the last U.S. troops
withdrew.
    The United States and other donors cut financial assistance
on which the country became dependent during two decades of war
with the Islamist militants, and more than $9 billion in
Afghanistan's hard currency assets were frozen.
    The United Nations is warning that nearly 23 million people
– about 55% of the population – are facing extreme levels of
hunger, with nearly 9 million at risk of famine as winter takes
hold in the impoverished landlocked country.
    "U.S. sanctions on the Taliban are not the cause of the
calamities facing the Afghan economy, and these additional
authorizations will not resolve the fundamental causes of the
situation," the spokesperson said.
    Western Union Co  WU.N  and MoneyGram International Inc
 MGI.O  resumed money-transfer services https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-western-union-resuming-services-afghanistan-senior-exec-2021-09-02
 to Afghanistan in September after suspending services after the
Islamist militia captured Kabul at lightning speed.

 (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jonathan Landay; Editing by
Daniel Wallis)
 ((Daphne.Psaledakis@thomsonreuters.com;))