A group of Congressmen, led by U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Tom Rice (R-SC) are seeking answers from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on how the Biden administration will enforce new sanctions against the Russian Federation.
Specifically, Pascrell, House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee chair, and Rice, the subcommittee ranking member, want to know what actions the administration’s new Task Force KleptoCapture will take to hold Russia accountable for their invasion of Ukraine.
“Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced the creation of Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing these sweeping sanctions, along with export restrictions and other economic countermeasures the United States has imposed. We applaud this action. So that we may better understand the role of the Department of the Treasury on the Task Force, we respectfully request answers,” the members wrote to Yellen.
The legislators are asking Yellen to detail the responsibilities of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation (CI) division with respect to the Task Force and whether the Task Force is working with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). They also would like Yellen to address how CI’s and OFAC’s responsibilities regarding the Task Force differ from or supplement their preexisting responsibilities regarding sanctions and how other Treasury divisions or bureaus are working to assist the Task Force.
Additionally, the Biden administration has requested an additional $91 million for the Treasury’s supplemental funding request for Ukraine. The legislators want to know how exactly that funding will be used and how much will be allotted for the Task Force.
Lastly, the legislators are asking Yellen to answer how the Task Force will ensure Russia will not use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.
The group has asked Yellen to answer these inquiries by Wednesday, March 9.