Cablegate: Austrian Response to Usg Questions On September 25

VZCZCXYZ0015
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #2618 2851442
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121442Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8781
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0226
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS VIENNA 002618

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR ISN, IO, T, EUR, AND NEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KNNP PARM IR AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE TO USG QUESTIONS ON SEPTEMBER 25
NOTICE ON BANK SEPAH

REF: A) VIENNA 2574 B) STATE 139494

1. (SBU) Following up on his interim response (ref A) to ref
B questions, Markus Zehentner, Deputy Director of the
Austrian National Bank's (ANB) Legal Division, contacted
EconUnit Chief on October 12. Zehentner maintained that
Austria's September 25 notification to the UNSCR regarding
payments to Bank Sepah was, at this moment, purely
hypothetical. According to Zehentner there are no pending
payments to Bank Sepah and the ANB has not received any
applications for authorizations of payments under paragraph
15 of UNSCR 1737. The Austrian notification was prompted by
similar requests from other EU Member States (Germany, United
Kingdom, and Italy).

2. (SBU) Zehentner added that, because there were no payment
applications pending, the ANB could not answer the more
specific questions in ref B. Zehentner emphasized that the
ANB would review any requests for payments to Bank Sepah
under paragraph 15 of UNSCR 1737 and paragraph 4 of UNSCR
1747. Most notably, the payment would have to be under
contracts entered into force before the listing of Bank Sepah
under Annex I of UNSCR 1747.
Kilner

© Scoop Media