Citibank revealed in courtroom filings on Wednesday that the FBI, the EPA, the EPA Inspector Basic, and the Treasury Division have all requested that the financial institution freeze accounts of a number of nonprofits and state authorities companies.
The accounts have been frozen in February, however the new documents make public particulars that had beforehand been unknown, together with a full checklist of the nonprofits beneath FBI scrutiny.
The funds have been disbursed as a part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Fuel Discount Fund, which was created by the Inflation Discount Act, a legislation passed by Congress in 2022. Of that, the EPA acquired $14 billion for a National Clean Investment Fund, which gives grants to inexperienced banks.
Inexperienced banks use these funds to supply financing for clear know-how tasks across the nation. Startups which have applied sciences which can be able to scale commercially have been eligible to obtain financing to make tasks a actuality.
The funding was largely for use for loans, which have been to be paid again and recycled for future lending. Inexperienced banks are inclined to have delinquency charges on par with business and residential portfolios held by different business lenders.
Citibank was chosen because the monetary agent to manage that cash, holding it in accounts beneath the names of the awardees. It’s also administering a separate, $6 billion Clear Communities Funding Accelerator program. The EPA’s contract with Citibank was publicly introduced in April 2024.
The FBI has requested that Citibank place 30-day administrative freezes on accounts held by nonprofits that have been recipients of the inexperienced financial institution funding. It additionally requested the financial institution to freeze different nonprofit and state authorities company accounts, together with Habitat for Humanity, United Method, the Colorado Clear Power Fund, and New York State’s Division of Taxation and Finance.
Three nonprofits that acquired inexperienced financial institution funds have sued Citibank, asking the financial institution to launch the cash of their accounts.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has mentioned that the Greenhouse Fuel Discount Fund doesn’t align with the company’s priorities and that he has issues about fraud, although he has not offered proof to assist that declare.
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