US appeals court reverses forfeiture order of Iran assets
A US federal appeals court has reversed a lower court’s ruling that had ordered the forfeiture of Iranian assets in the US for the benefit of the families of some victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City rejected a judge's rational on Wednesday in ordering the sale of an office building in Manhattan worth about $1 billion as well as other properties.
In 2013, the judge said revenue from the skyscraper passed through Bank Melli, a state-owned Iranian bank, violating American sanctions. The federal appeals court disagreed that the properties were owned by the Iranian government.
In November 2009, federal prosecutors in the US seized the assets of the Alavi Foundation due to alleged links to the Iranian government, citing violation of a US-trade embargo against Iran.
The assets of the Alavi Foundation included the 650 Fifth Avenue building in Manhattan, as well as Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California, Texas and Virginia.
American Legal scholars said they know of only a few cases in US history in which law enforcement authorities have seized a house of worship. Without rent from the office building, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers.
The Alavi Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1978, works to advance the Islamic and Persian culture in the US.
In the last four decades, the organization has also given millions of dollars to American schools, universities and charitable organizations; among them Harvard, Columbia and Rutgers university.
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