FDD Praises Senators Gillibrand and Kirk, Reps. Deutch and Burton for New Iran Sanctions Legislation

FDD Praises Senators Gillibrand and Kirk, Reps. Deutch and Burton for New Iran Sanctions Legislation

Washington, D.C. (February 16, 2011) –This week, the Iranian regime once again is pursuing a brutal campaign of executions against its political opponents and firing tear gas on Iranians demonstrating peacefully for democratic reforms. In an effort to persuade Iran’s leaders that they cannot go on violating the human rights of their people and the international obligations of their nation, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), and U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Dan Burton (R-IN) today introduced the Iran Transparency and Accountability Act.

This bipartisan legislation would require companies to disclose any sanctionable business activities with Iran or business ties to Iranian persons or entities tied to the Iranian regime in their quarterly and annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The law would build on the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act that Congress passed in 2010,forcing companies to divest from Iran’s energy and financial sectors or face crippling economic sanctions.

Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of FDD who leads the foundation’s work on sanctions, stated:

“The Iranian regime benefits from international companies which continue to do business with a regime that brutalizes its own people, is building nuclear weapons and supports international terrorism. These Iranian business ties are often opaque making it difficult for authorities to determine whether these companies are pursuing sanctionable activities. The Iran Transparency and Accountability Act forces companies or their affiliates trading on U.S. public exchanges to be accountable for their own Iranian activities. Honest disclosure is the cornerstone of capital markets. Now these companies will have to be truthful or face the market consequences.”

According to the bill’s sponsors, at least eight companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges do business with Iran’s energy industry and 18 U.S. banks have ties with foreign banks that also service designated Iranian financial institutions. Iran uses these foreign institutions to gain access to U.S. markets, enabling them to circumvent sanctions. The legislation requires companies to report to the SEC sanctionable energy-related activities with Iran, business ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and business dealings with Iranian entities owned or controlled by the Iranian government. The IRGC and Iranian government owned or controlled entities play a major role in Iran’s human rights abuses, nuclear weapons program and support for terrorism.

In addition, according to the legislation’s co-sponsors, the legislation would:

· Require the SEC to post the list of reported companies investing in Iran to the public on its website, and provide that information directly to the Secretaries of State and Treasury, the General Services Administration, and the appropriate Congressional committees.

· Require the President to investigate and determine within 180 days of receiving the SEC report any self-disclosures by companies that could lead to sanctions.

· Require the Treasury Secretary to promulgate rules within 90 days of passage to implement a CISADA requirement that U.S. financial institutions audit and report on any correspondent accounts with foreign banks that violate Iran sanctions.

The bill also forces companies to disclose if they’re doing business with the IRGC, entities designated for supporting proliferation or terrorism, or entities controlled by the Iranian government. Many of these entities are complicit in human rights abuses.

For more information on the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ research and analysis of Iranian sanctions, please contact Susan Firey at (202) 622-3948 or [email protected].

###

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies is a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism. Founded shortly after the attacks of 9/11, FDD combines policy research, democracy and counterterrorism education, strategic communications, and investigative journalism in support of its mission. For more information, please visit www.defenddemocracy.org.