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WASHINGTON – On Friday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo met with Nigerian Minister of Finance Wale Edun on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings. Deputy Secretary Adeyemo commended Minister Edun for Nigeria’s important reforms to advance market-oriented economic policies and address inflation. The Deputy Secretary also welcomed Nigeria’s engagement with the World Bank, including support for social safety nets and fiscal reforms.

The Deputy Secretary asked Minister Edun for an update on Nigeria’s efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering and encouraged Nigeria to maintain steady progress in undertaking the necessary reforms to tackle illicit finance and corruption.

 

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WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo met with Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek. They exchanged views on the global economic outlook, as well as the American and Turkish economies. They also discussed ways in which the United States and Türkiye can strengthen the bilateral relationship by deepening trade and investment, and boosting anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, and sanctions enforcement.

 

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WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen hosted finance ministers of member countries of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP). Together with Inter-American Development Bank President (IDB) Ilan Goldfajn, they discussed the work of the IDB to support APEP members in enhancing competitiveness in the sectors identified at the APEP Leaders’ Summit that was hosted by President Biden in November 2023: critical minerals, the medical sector, and semiconductors. Secretary Yellen commended the work of APEP finance ministers on the recent decisions to provide $3.5 billion in new capital for the IDB Group’s private sector window, IDB Invest, and on reforms to strengthen the effectiveness of the IDB Group in supporting private sector-led, sustainable, and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
 

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WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen met with Ministers of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson of Sweden, Riikka Purra of Finland, and Gintarė Skaistė of Lithuania on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.  Secretary Yellen discussed ways to continue providing near-term financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as ways to unlock the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction.

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WASHINGTON – Today, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo met The Honorable Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Minister of Finance II of Malaysia. They exchanged views on the American, Malaysian, and global economies, Malaysia’s macroeconomic outlook and policy priorities, as well as Malaysia’s progress towards a clean energy transition. They discussed efforts by Iran and Russia to evade U.S. sanctions as well as President Biden’s Executive Order from December that allows for sanctions against third country financial institutions. They also discussed efforts to counter the financing of terrorism.

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As Prepared for Delivery

Minister Ndung’u, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with you today as both of our governments prepare for President Ruto’s State Visit to Washington in May—the first by an African Head of State since 2008.

Kenya is a valued U.S. partner and a leading voice on the African continent on many of the pressing economic, financial, and climate issues that will be the focus of discussions during these Spring Meetings.

In our conversation today, I look forward to discussing the upcoming State Visit and how we can make progress on shared economic priorities.

Kenya’s economy has shown resilience to a range of shocks and pressures, and your country recently returned to international capital markets. I look forward to hearing from you about how you see the economic challenges and opportunities ahead.

Kenya has also been making good use of support from the international financial institutions and taking a leadership role in the World Bank’s IDA replenishment and at the African Development Bank.

I look forward to exchanging views on the international financial institutions, including how to strengthen the impact of the MDBs through MDB evolution. President Ruto’s convening of the Africa Climate Summit last year reinforced a key tenet of MDB Evolution, which is that addressing climate change and pursuing inclusive and resilient economic growth are mutually reinforcing goals.

I look forward to a productive conversation today and to continuing to deepen our bilateral partnership over the months ahead.

Thank you.

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WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two entities for their roles in establishing fundraising campaigns on behalf of Yinon Levi (Levi) and David Chai Chasdai (Chasdai), two violent extremists who were sanctioned on February 1, 2024 in connection with violence in the West Bank. The fundraising campaigns established by Mount Hebron Fund for Levi and by Shlom Asiraich for Chasdai generated the equivalent of $140,000 and $31,000, respectively.

“Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich generated tens of thousands of dollars for extremists responsible for destroying property, assaulting civilians, and violence against Palestinians,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Such acts by these organizations undermine the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable.”

Concurrently, the Department of State is designating Ben-Zion Gopstein, the founder and leader of an organization whose members have engaged in violence, including assaults on Palestinian civilians.

CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGNS FOR VIOLENT EXTREMISTS

Today, OFAC designated Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich for being foreign persons who are responsible for or complicit in, or who have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions — including directing, enacting, implementing, enforcing, or failing to enforce policies — that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the West Bank, and for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, persons blocked pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14115. 

Following the February 1, 2024 designation of Yinon Levi, Mount Hebron Fund established an online fundraiser for the benefit of Levi, who was designated pursuant to E.O. 14115 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in planning, ordering, otherwise directing, or participating in efforts to place civilians in reasonable fear of violence with the purpose or effect of necessitating a change of residence to avoid such violence, affecting the West Bank. Levi regularly led groups of violent extremists who engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear in the West Bank. His groups assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, threatened them with additional violence if they did not leave their homes, burned their fields, and destroyed their property. Levi and other extremists have repeatedly attacked multiple communities within the West Bank. Mount Hebron Fund’s fundraiser for Levi’s benefit reportedly raised the equivalent of $140,000 before the campaign was removed from the crowdfunding website and funds were withheld by a local financial institution. 

Following the February 1, 2024 designation of David Chai Chasdai, Shlom Asiraich established an online fundraiser for the benefit of Chasdai, who was also designated pursuant to E.O. 14115 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions — including directing, enacting, implementing, enforcing, or failing to enforce policies — that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the West Bank. Chasdai initiated and led a riot, which involved setting vehicles and buildings on fire, assaulting Palestinian civilians, and causing damage to property in Huwara, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian. Shlom Asiraich’s fundraiser for Chasdai’s benefit reportedly raised the equivalent of $31,000 before it too was removed from the crowdfunding website. Shlom Asiraich’s fundraiser specifically noted that it was raising the money following the imposition of sanctions on, and the administrative detention of, Chasdai. Shlom Asiraich is an Israel-registered non-profit organization based in the West Bank that has also raised funds for other imprisoned violent extremists who share the group’s ideology, including Yigal Amir, who assassinated former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and Amiram Ben Uliel, who was convicted in 2020 for the killing of a Palestinian couple and their baby in an arson attack in the West Bank village of Duma in 2015.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s actions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. 

In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. 

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. 

For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for more information on the entities designated today.

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As Prepared for Delivery

Good morning. Thank you for being here today and to President Goldfajn for joining us.

I would like to start by congratulating you on the unanimous approval of a $3.5 billion capital increase and new business model for the IDB’s private sector arm, IDB Invest. These were key deliverables under the Americas Partnership Finance Track. As a result of the capital increase and new approach, IDB Invest will be able to better deliver long-term job creation and growth: generating over $100 billion of long-term financing to reach 2.5 million mid- and small-sized enterprises and support 9.5 million jobs. Americas Partnership member countries stand to benefit significantly, including from more equity, local currency lending, and private capital mobilization, and we should be proud of this achievement.

At the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, President Biden personally highlighted the commitment of the United States to an IDB Invest capital increase, and we’re glad to have helped negotiate it. The Biden Administration is now engaging with Congress, and we see IDB Invest as a key part of our toolkit to offer Latin America and the Caribbean a realistic and high-quality financing option.

I want to thank President Goldfajn for his leadership in bringing to fruition the capital increase and the reform agenda advanced through the ambitious new Institutional Strategy. Ilan, you have the support of all of us to continue to sharpen the IDB’s effectiveness, aim for results that can be monitored, and be responsive to your borrowers’ needs.

I very recently had a chance to see the IDB’s work firsthand in Antofagasta, Chile. Thank you to Minister Marcel for joining me there. We saw the significant work being done by IDB Lab and how the IDB’s private and public sector arms are facilitating Chile’s impressive green transition. Further infrastructure development in the region will help bring these solutions to global markets.

Indeed, developing resilient supply chains should be a key driver of growth across the region. You have heard me talk about “friend shoring”: working with a wide range of trusted partners and allies to diversify our supply chains. You, representing countries in the Americas Partnership, are clearly trusted partners, and the United States will work with you in creating opportunities for your private sectors to participate in fast evolving global supply chains.

We have also been pleased to discuss with our APEP partners our goals of improving the speed and reducing the cost of cross-border payments, which would complement efforts on supply chain integration. Treasury is committed to the G20’s objectives to deliver faster, cheaper, and more accessible and transparent cross-border payments. And I’m that glad we are coordinating on payments and related policy priorities through bilateral conversations as well as joint participation in meetings such as the Financial Stability Board’s regional consultative group for the Americas.

The IDB is an important partner in all of this work, and I am pleased that it has moved forward with seriousness to build out the Competitiveness Plans that our Leaders tasked to it last November at the Americas Partnership Summit.

But attracting investment in the semiconductor, critical minerals, and medical supplies supply chains, and spurring growth in the region more generally, will require not just low-cost financing and knowledge-sharing. We’ll also need modern infrastructure, good regulatory practices, a welcoming investment climate, and sound policies. Americas Partnership countries need to move quickly to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity as businesses increasingly prioritize diversity and resilience in their supply chains.

Today, I want to learn about the actions you are taking to position your economies to better attract investment, become more competitive, and integrate into—and move up—supply chains. I am also interested to hear about any trends you are seeing in regional integration. Are you witnessing a reallocation of investment in your countries towards specific sectors? What are the challenges you see to greater regional integration?

I will now turn to Ilan to discuss his team’s work on the Competitiveness Plans. We’ll then hear from Minister Vicente, Minister Marcel, and Minister Acosta, and then I will open the floor for comments. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, Under Secretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh met with Argentina’s Minister of Economy Luis Caputo, and Chief of Cabinet Nicolas Posse, on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.  Under Secretary Shambaugh discussed the impressive progress made towards reducing inflation and foreign exchange accumulation, and he encouraged continued efforts to protect the most vulnerable during a difficult stabilization process. 

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