Explainer: Terrorists' Financial Assets

ByABC News
September 25, 2001, 6:18 PM

N E W   Y O R K, Sept. 26 -- On Monday, President Bush announced an executive order freezing the assets of organizations linked to known terrorists. But exactly what does it mean to freeze assets? As the campaign against terrorism moves to the world of finance, here are answers to that and other questions.

What Does it Mean to 'Freeze Assets'?The term "freezing assets" is often used to cover a variety of law-enforcement actions that prevent parties in question from making significant financial transactions. For instance, suspects arrested in financial fraud cases may have their assets frozen by the presiding judge to prevent them from quickly transferring money to foreign bank accounts.

In this case, Bush's executive order means that the 27 parties named are effectively prevented from doing business in the United States, and that their banks must halt any of their transactions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, a branch of the Treasury Department, sent out a bulletin containing Bush's executive order and asked for banks to immediately notify the government of their compliance with the order.

The executive order also states that if an international bank conducts business with known terrorist groups, Treasury Secretary Paul O' Neill can order the suspension of that bank's U.S. business a potentially more powerful tool in the long run. The Executive Order

Whose Assets Were Frozen?Of the 27 parties mentioned, 12 are individuals, 11 are known terrorist groups, three are charitable organizations and one is a German-based business. The Bush administration probably will add more names to its list as the investigation of worldwide terrorist networks continue. Executive Order: the Sanctions List

Will This Help Show Who Ordered the Sept. 11 Attacks?Not necessarily. The FBI continues to follow the money trail coming from the four Sept. 11 hijackings, tracing credit card purchases and receipts of other financial transactions. But the government also thinks the total amount of money spent on the hijackings may only total about $500,000 for flying lessons, airline tickets, rental cars, apartments, and other expenses.