The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan – and resulting fall off of the country’s already dire humanitarian situation – has kicked off a debate about what to do with billions of dollars of frozen Afghan government assets held abroad, predominantly in the United States.Following the takeover, a group of families of about 150 US victims of the September 11 attacks entered the arena, saying they were owed about $7bn in frozen assets held by the Federal Reserve of New York. They were awarded the sum by a federal judge in 2012 following a default judgement against an array of defendants – including the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and Iran – who never showed up in court.With the Taliban back in power in Afghanistan, families in the so-called “Havlish case” – named after plaintiff Fiona Havlish, whose husband worked on the 101st floor of the South Tower – have argued they finally have the ability to enforce the ruling. They subsequently convinced a federal judge to begin the process of seizing the money.
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