Treasury Distributes 2.404 Million Additional Stimulus Checks Since End of Mass Disbursement

Washington--The Treasury Department announced today that it has distributed 2.404 million stimulus payments, totaling $1.5 billion since mass disbursement of payments ended July 11. As of the end of August, a total of 114.809 million payments have been distributed totaling $93.389 billion.

While mass disbursement of stimulus checks ended July 11, small batches of payments continue to be sent out to American households. The Treasury Department will announce updates monthly until the end of the year. The Treasury Department also reminds Americans, especially those seniors and veterans who do not normally file a tax return, to file a return by the October 15^th filing deadline to receive a stimulus payment this year.

US Treasury Awards $54.2 Million to Benefit Organizations
Serving Economically Distressed Communities Nationwide

Port Angeles, Wash. – Director Donna J. Gambrell, of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, visited Port Angeles, Wash. today to announce awards totaling $54,181,733 for 89 organizations serving economically distressed communities across the nation. The awards are being made through the fiscal year 2008 round of the CDFI Program. The award recipient organizations are headquartered in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

"Port Angeles is a long way from the nation's capital, but we selected this location to make our FY 2008 national award announcement to highlight how CDFIs are successful at implementing innovative approaches to rural economic development," said CDFI Fund Director Gambrell. "By embracing new traditions of sustainability and economic diversification, CDFIs are helping to map the future of rural revitalization and growth."

Treasury held the national award announcement at the Incubator at Lincoln Center in Port Angeles to highlight the three Pacific Northwest-based award recipients: Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia (Ilwaco, WA); Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help (Seattle, WA); and Innovative Housing, Inc. (Portland, OR). In addition, the announcement focuses on the work of many CDFIs in support of the nation's rural communities, bringing residents greater access to affordable credit, capital and financial services. Many CDFIs focus on a "triple bottom line" where the success of their investments is measured not just by financial return but also through community impacts and environmental benefits in the communities they serve.

The awardees were selected after a competitive review of 225 applications received by the CDFI Fund from organizations across the nation that requested, in total, more than $205 million in funding under the FY 2008 round of the CDFI Program.

Since inception, the CDFI Fund has made almost 1,500 awards for over $625 million through the CDFI Program.

Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of existing private, for-profit and nonprofit community-based lending organizations known as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that serve rural and urban low-income people and communities across the nation that lack adequate access to affordable financial products and services.

The CDFI Program consists of two types of monetary awards: Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance. The program is funded through an annual appropriation from the United States Congress. The CDFI Fund receives applications on an annual basis and awards funds through a competitive process. Since inception, the CDFI Fund has awarded over $625 million through the CDFI Program. In FY 2008, 66 CDFIs received $52 million in Financial Assistance or a combination of Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards and 23 organizations received $2 million in only Technical Assistance awards.

Financial Assistance awards allow the CDFI Fund to achieve economic and community development impact by investing in CDFIs that demonstrate the financial and managerial capacity to provide affordable financial products and services to low-income communities and populations. Financial Assistance awards are made only to certified CDFIs (meaning, they have been certified by the CDFI Fund prior to applying for funds), which includes both mature CDFIs and small and emerging CDFIs.

Financial Assistance awards are made in the form of equity investments, loans, deposits, or grants, depending on the form of the applicant's matching funds. Financial Assistance awards must be matched with non-federal funds of the same type, on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Through the match requirement, CDFIs leverage private capital to respond to demand for affordable financial products and services in economically distressed markets and by low-income people. CDFIs respond to this demand by providing loans, investments, training, technical assistance, and basic financial services such as checking and savings accounts.

Through Technical Assistance awards, in the form of grants, the CDFI Fund assists start-up and existing CDFIs to build their organizational capacity to serve their target markets. Both certified and non-certified CDFIs are eligible to apply for Technical Assistance awards; non-certified organizations must meet CDFI certification requirements within three years.

Technical Assistance awards can be used for multiple purposes, including purchasing equipment, materials, supplies, and consulting and contracting services. A Technical Assistance award can also be used to pay for certain personnel salaries/benefits and to train staff or board members. Established CDFIs often use Technical Assistance awards to build their capacity to provide new products, serve current markets in new ways, or enhance the efficiency of their operations. Newer CDFIs often use their Technical Assistance awards to undertake market studies, develop underwriting policies, and purchase computer equipment.

For more information on the CDFI Program, please visit www.cdfifund.gov.

Treasury Department Selects Pizer as
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy

Washington – Undersecretary for International Affairs David H. McCormick today announced the selection of William A. (Billy) Pizer to be Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy.  He will lead a new office created by Secretary Paulson to develop, coordinate, and execute the Treasury Department's role in the domestic and international environment and energy agenda of the United States.  Among other things, the office will oversee international financial mechanisms to support U.S. and global environmental goals, such as the multi-billion dollar Clean Technology Fund established in July, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, and the Global Environmental Facility, as well as contribute to the development of domestic and international policy options to address climate change. 

Pizer spent the past 12 years at Resources for the Future, the nonpartisan research organization, most recently as Senior Fellow and Research Director, where he directed, published, and communicated research on the design of effective environmental policy.  He has also served as Senior Economist at the National Commission on Energy Policy and Senior Staff Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.  He received a B.S. in Physics from the University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. 

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August 28, 2008
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Treasury Targets Rising Colombian Narcotics Traffickers

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated two Colombian individuals, Jesus Maria Alejandro Sanchez Jimenez and Rafael Angel Sanchez Rua, as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNTs) pursuant to Executive Order 12978.  OFAC also designated as SDNTs two other individuals and four entities located in Colombia.  Sanchez Jimenez and Sanchez Rua are among those who have inherited the drug trafficking organization once led by SDNT principal Carlos Mario Jimenez Naranjo (alias "Macaco"), who is now in U.S. custody.

"The recent extradition of Carlos Mario Jimenez Naranjo represents a success in the U.S. and Colombian governments' efforts against narcotics trafficking.  It also demonstrates the Colombian government's commitment and leadership in this effort," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin.  "Today's designation exposes two of the individuals who have replaced Jimenez Naranjo, who headed one of the most powerful and ruthless criminal groups in Colombia."

Carlos Mario Jimenez Naranjo was extradited to the United States on May 7, 2008.  He faces federal drug trafficking charges, among other charges, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Jesus Maria Alejandro Sanchez Jimenez, also known as "El Primo" and "Scubi," is from Pereira, Colombia and is a cousin of Jimenez Naranjo.  Sanchez Jimenez helped manage Jimenez Naranjo's drug trafficking operations while the latter was in a Colombian prison awaiting extradition to the United States.  Sanchez Jimenez has grown more powerful following the recent assassination in Argentina of his close associate, Hector Edilson Duque Ceballos (alias "Monoteto"), who was also a lieutenant in Jimenez Naranjo's drug trafficking organization.  Rafael Angel Sanchez Rua is from Cartago, Colombia and is a long-time drug trafficking partner of Jimenez Naranjo.  Sanchez Rua is involved in the transportation of Colombian cocaine to Europe through Venezuela.  In the late 1990s, Sanchez Rua was arrested by Colombian authorities on arms smuggling charges.  The current whereabouts of Jesus Maria Alejandro Sanchez Jimenez and Rafael Angel Sanchez Rua are unknown.

Today's OFAC action also targets entities and individuals that hold assets on behalf of Jesus Maria Alejandro Sanchez Jimenez and Rafael Angel Sanchez Rua.  Ganaderia Arizona, controlled by Sanchez Jimenez, is a prize-winning cattle farm located in Caucasia, Colombia with an office in Medellin.  Sanchez Rua controls three companies in or near Cartago, Colombia: Almacen y Compraventa Los 3 Oros, an agricultural store; Granja Porcicola La Fortaleza, a commercial pig farm; and Motel Momentos E.U., an hourly motel.  OFAC also designated today Luz Piedad Restrepo Encizo and Marisol Viedma Abonce, who act for or on behalf of Sanchez Rua.

This designation is part of the ongoing interagency effort by the Departments of the Treasury, Justice, State and Homeland Security to implement Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995, which applies financial sanctions against Colombia's drug cartels. Today's designation action freezes any assets the designees may have that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designated companies and individuals.

A detailed look at the program against Colombian drug organizations is provided in OFAC's March 2007 Impact Report on Economic Sanctions Against Colombian Drug Cartels.

REPORTS

• chart

Treasury Designates Iranian Nuclear and Missile Entities

Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated five entities for their ties to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. All five designees are owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, entities that have been designated by the United States or the United Nations Security Council.

The entities designated today are the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine (a/k/a Karaj Nuclear Research Center), the Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC), Jabber Ibn Hayan, Safety Equipment Procurement Company (SEP Co.) and Joza Industrial Company.

"Responsible financial institutions and businesses worldwide are taking steps to avoid doing business with Iranian nuclear and missile entities, as well as with the front companies and cut-outs the Iranian regime uses to disguise its activities," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.  "These five nuclear and missile entities have been used by Iran to hide its illicit conduct and further its dangerous nuclear ambitions." 

This action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which is aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters, and at isolating them from the U.S. financial and commercial systems. Designations under E.O. 13382 are implemented by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and they prohibit all transactions between the designees and any U.S. person, and freeze any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine, the NFRPC, and Jabber Ibn Hayan have been designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 because they are owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

President George W. Bush in June 2005 identified the AEOI in the Annex to E.O. 13382. The AEOI, which directly reports to the Iranian President, is the main Iranian organization for research and development activities in the field of nuclear technology, including Iran's centrifuge enrichment program, and manages Iran's overall nuclear program. The AEOI was designated by the United Nations in the Annex to UN Security Council Resolution 1737 for its role in Iran's nuclear program.  

The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine at Karaj is a large AEOI research component. The NFRPC is AEOI's center for the development of nuclear fuel, involved in enrichment-related activities. The NFRPC's uranium conversion facility, in operation since 2005, can produce most of the uranium compounds needed for fuel cycle activities. Uranium conversion is an essential step for the creation of nuclear fuel.  Jabber Ibn Hayan, also part of AEOI, is involved in the field of research and development in the nuclear cycle, in addition to providing a wide range of laboratory services for the AEOI nuclear production division.

President Bush also identified Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) and the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG) in the Annex to E.O. 13382. AIO is the overall manager of Iran's missile program and oversees all of Iran's missile industries. SHIG is responsible for Iran's ballistic missile programs, most notably the Shahab series of medium-range ballistic missiles. AIO and its subordinate elements, such as SHIG, often use front companies to access foreign technology and raw materials for the development of Iran's missile program.

SEP Co. has been designated today for acting, or purporting to act for, or on behalf of AIO. AIO has been using SEP Co. to procure on its behalf since at least 2003. Joza Industrial Company has also been designated today for acting or purporting to act for, or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, SHIG. In an effort to evade sanctions and obscure its procurement efforts, SHIG utilizes a series of front companies, including the Joza Industrial Company, to purchase goods and materials.

All five of the entities designated today have also been previously designated by the United Nations. The Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine and the NFRPC were both designated by the United Nations in the Annex to Resolution 1747 for their involvement in Iran's nuclear activities. Jabber Ibn Hayan, Joza Industrial Company, and SEP Co. were designated by the United Nations in Annex III to Resolution 1803.

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August 8, 2008
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U.S., Malta Sign Income Tax Treaty

Washington, DC--The Treasury Department today announced that U.S. Ambassador to Malta, Molly Bordonaro, and Malta Finance Minister Tonio Fenech have signed a new income tax treaty between the two countries in the Maltese capital of Valletta.

The agreement provides for reduced withholding rates on cross-border dividend payments generally with the elimination of withholding on cross-border dividend payments to pension funds.  It also generally provides for withholding at a 10-percent rate on interest, royalties, and other income.

The treaty also contains a comprehensive limitation of benefits provision and provides for the exchange of information between the competent authorities to facilitate the administration of each country's tax laws. 

The final version of the treaty is attached.

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REPORTS

• U.S.-Malta Income Tax Treaty

August 6, 2008
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Treasury, IRS Issue Ruling Preventing Certain Pension Transfers

Agencies Offer Framework for Possible Legislative Change

Washington, DC--The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today issued Revenue Ruling 2008-45, which states that a transfer of a tax-qualified pension plan from an employer to an unrelated taxpayer when the transfer is not connected with a transfer of significant business assets, operations, or employees, is not permissible under current law. A copy of the ruling is attached.

Accompanying today's ruling, the Administration put forth a framework of principles, as described below, that should guide the development of legislation that could permit such transactions, in circumstances where the transaction is in the best interest of plan participants, their beneficiaries, employers, and the pension insurance system. The legislative framework was developed by the Treasury Department, the Labor Department, the Commerce Department, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Under the legislative framework, a pension plan (or a portion of a plan) under which benefits are no longer accruing (i.e., a frozen plan) could be transferred to an entity unrelated to the employer (or former employer) of the participants in the plan, provided that certain conditions are met. The conditions would reflect the following fundamental requirements:

• Plan participants, their representatives, and ERISA regulators would be required to receive advance notice of a plan transfer, and the parties to the transaction would be required to provide regulators information necessary to review and approve the proposed transaction.
• Only financially strong entities in well-regulated sectors would be permitted to acquire a pension plan in a plan transfer transaction.
• The parties to the transaction would be required to demonstrate that participants' benefits and the pension insurance system would be exposed to less risk as a result of the transfer, and that the transfer would be in the best interests of the participants and beneficiaries.
• Limitations on transfers would be imposed to limit undue concentration of risk.
• Transferees and members of their controlled groups would assume full responsibility for the liabilities of transferred plans and would comply with post-transaction reporting and fiduciary requirements.
• Subsequent transfer transactions would be subject to the rules applicable to original transfer transactions.

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REPORTS

• Revenue Ruling 2008-45