White House says frozen assets will ‘remain inaccessible’

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Monday that Afghanistan’s frozen assets, being held mostly by the United States, will “remain inaccessible” to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Psaki’s comments came on the heels of Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s appeal on Sunday for the US and western countries to release upward of $10 billion in funds that were frozen when the IEA took power on August 15.

Muttaqi told the Associated Press in an interview that sanctions against Afghanistan would “not have any benefit.”

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki meanwhile told reporters on Monday that there are a number of reasons why Afghanistan’s reserves remain inaccessible.

She said the issue is very complicated, and that the White House is “continually reviewing [the situation], thoughtfully, and in coordination with allies and partners.”

“But these are some important reasons. First and foremost, the status of the funds is the subject of ongoing litigation, brought by certain victims of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks to hold judgments against the Taliban (IEA). These legal proceedings cannot be disregarded and have led to the temporary suspension of any movement of the funds through at least the end of the year and quite possibly longer,” she said.

Second, Psaki went to say that the United States, so far, is uncertain how the reserve funds could be available to directly benefit the people of Afghanistan “while ensuring that the funds do not benefit the Taliban (IEA).”

Thirdly, she said the IEA remains sanctioned by the United States, and a number of Afghan officials “are subject to the UN- — UNSCR’s 1988 sanctions regime. This raiges [sic] — raises immediate red flags for many states’ central banks and the financial community more generally when considering any transactions.”