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Federal Reserve Bank
OF DALLAS
T O N Y J . S A L V A G G IO
FIR S T V IC E PR E S ID E N T
July 19, 1994
DALLAS, TE X A S
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Notice 94-76
TO:
The Chief Operations Officer of each
member bank and others concerned in
the Eleventh Federal Reserve District
SUBJECT
Guidelines for Payments Relating to
Exempt/Approved Exports to Haiti
DETAILS
Payments and transfers incidental to shipments to Haiti of
informational materials needed for the free flow of information, rice, beans,
sugar, wheat flour, cooking oil, corn, corn flour, milk, edible tallow,
medicine, medical supplies, or donated food are authorized. In order to
assure that these payments flow smoothly, the Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) has developed new guidelines for the verification of the legitimacy of
payment orders relating to the listed items.
Intermediary banks may process "fresh funds" payment orders (not
involving debits to blocked accounts) referencing the approved/exempt
shipments listed above provided they have as their ultimate destination
another U.S. financial institution. The final U.S. financial institution
receiving such a payment order must obtain a signed certification from its
U.S. exporter/broker customer containing the following information:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
The name and address of the U.S. exporter or broker;
The name of a contact person at the U.S. exporter or broker,
including a phone and fax number;
In the case of a broker, the name of the non-U.S. exporter;
A statement as to the type and quantity of goods exported or
to be exported (including a purchase order/proforma invoice or
invoice number);
The date the goods were/are to be shipped (including shipping
document number and name of carrier for goods already
shipped);
The name and address of the purchaser in Haiti;
The value of the shipment; and,
A statement from the exporter/broker that the goods exported
are authorized under or exempt from the Haitian Transactions
Regulations and Executive Orders 12920 and 12922.
For additional copies, bankers and others are encouraged to use one of the following toll-free numbers in contacting the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:
Dallas Office (800) 333-4460; El Paso Branch Intrastate (800) 592-1631, Interstate (800) 351-1012; Houston Branch Intrastate (800) 392-4162,
Interstate (800) 221-0363; San Antonio Branch Intrastate (800) 292-5810.
This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org)
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The bank receiving such a certification must retain a copy in its
files and forward the original to the Compliance Programs Division of the
OFAC, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., 2004 Annex, Washington, D.C. 20220,
within ten days of receipt.
Where the payment involves a check or draft drawn on a bank in
Haiti, the beneficiary’s bank must obtain the required certification from the
beneficiary and make a notation below its endorsement stamp that clearing of
the item is authorized under the Haitian Transaction Regulations/Executive
Orders. Any banks subsequently handling the check can rely on the
beneficiary’s bank having exercised due diligence when processing such an
item.
The legitimacy of payments destined for financial institutions
outside of the United States or for non-U.S. exporters/brokers must still be
verified by the OFAC on a case-by-case basis before being processed. The
verification will require the same information as that referenced in numbers
(1) through (8) above but must be delivered with supporting documents to the
OFAC after the payment order has been initiated and entered the U.S. banking
system.
Please note that debits to blocked accounts to make such payments
are not allowed without a specific authorization from the OFAC. The
presumption is that checks or drafts drawn on accounts of banks in Haiti are
expected to be processed through and paid by funds in parallel accounts.
Applications to the OFAC for licenses to debit blocked accounts related to
exports must be accompanied by the same information referenced in numbers (1)
through (8) above along with supporting documentation.
Transactions which on their face indicate that they are for
Diplomatic transactions or transactions involving OFAC-registered and approved
non-governmental organizations do not require certifications. (Registered
non-governmental organizations are aware that exports of humanitarian items
not listed above or the commercial sale of unlisted food items require them to
have specific licenses from the OFAC.) Where an OFAC approval is referenced,
an intermediary bank processing a funds transfer from another U.S. bank
relating to such a transaction may rely on the U.S. originating bank as having
exercised due diligence with regard to the transaction.
Parallel Accounts
U.S. banks holding correspondent accounts of banks organized under
the laws of Haiti and not listed on the listing of Specially Designated
Nationals and Blocked Entities must now block the correspondent accounts.
However, U.S. banks holding such accounts are instructed and directed to
establish special licensed accounts parallel to the blocked accounts to
receive "fresh funds" related to transactions involving Diplomatic transfers,
OFAC-registered/approved non-governmental organization projects, family
remittances of $50.00 per month per household, and exempt or approved OFACverified exports. Correspondents are permitted to operate parallel accounts
for debits and credits related to authorized transactions. Any U.S. bank
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holding such an account is authorized to receive "fresh funds" into the
parallel account sent via a third country to enable the Haitian correspondent
to fund authorized exports to Haiti. A Haitian bank, for example, could route
money to its parallel account through a Mexican bank to be sure it had
sufficient funds on hand to cover payment orders relating to authorized
exports. Only debits for authorized transactions, however, can be made from
parallel accounts. Money may not be moved from blocked accounts to parallel
accounts without specific authorization from the OFAC. U.S. banks holding
parallel accounts are to mail copies of monthly statements for each account to
the Compliance Programs Division, OFAC, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., 2004
Annex, Washington, D.C. 20220 REF: HP, so that they arrive no later than the
last business day of the month following the activity described in each
statement.
The OFAC believes that the only banks located in Haiti which are not
organized under the laws of Haiti are Citibank, the Bank of Boston, and the
Bank of Nova Scotia ("Scotiabank").
MORE INFORMATION
For more information, please contact the Compliance Programs
Division of the OFAC at (202) 622-2490. For additional copies of this Bank’s
notice, please contact the Public Affairs Department at (214) 922-5254.
Sincerely,
@FedFRASER