The U.S. Treasury is seeking information from Toyota about how ISIS has gotten hold of the automaker’s trucks, which have been shown in the terror group’s propaganda videos.
In a statement, Toyota said it is part of a broader U.S. Treasury inquiry looking more closely at how international supply chains and capital flow into the Middle East. The request of Toyota regarding its trucks was first reported by ABC News.
Toyota is “committed to complying fully with the laws and regulations of each country or region where we operate and require our dealers and distributors to do the same. We are supporting the U.S. Treasury Department’s broader inquiry into international supply chains and the flow of capital and goods in the Middle East,” Toyota spokesman Ed Lewis told CNN.
The U.S. Treasury has indicated to Toyota that the right procedures are in place to protect the company’s supply chain integrity in the Middle East, he told CNN.
Lewis said it’s impossible for any automaker to completely control how vehicles could be misappropriated, stolen or resold by independent third parties.
“Toyota has a strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, and we have procedures and contractual commitments in place to help prevent our products from being diverted for unauthorized military use,” Lewis said. Many of the Toyota vehicles used in the ISIS propaganda videos aren’t sold in the United States, he said.
Lewis suggested that the inquiry looks into a number of private companies.
“Our understanding is that Treasury has been conducting a broad review of supply chains and the flow of goods into the Middle East, including financial institutions, manufacturers and energy companies.”
The Treasury Department would not comment about which companies it has sought information from but said there is an ongoing effort to understand ISIS financing.
“In line with our usual approach to understanding ISIL’s financial and economic activities, we are working closely with foreign counterparts and stakeholders worldwide,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.