UANI Calls on Advanced Series Trust and Prudential to Divest from Iran-Backed Lebanese Bonds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 2, 2012

Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected]

Phone: (212) 554-3296

UANI Calls on Advanced Series Trust and Prudential to Divest from Iran-Backed Lebanese Bonds

New York, NY - On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Advanced Series Trust and its investment adviser, Prudential Investments LLC (Newark, NJ) to divest from their Iran-backed Lebanese bonds.

Advanced Series Trust, a Prudential fund, recently acknowledged holding Lebanese bonds to UANI, but claimed that it still "compl[ies] with all applicable U.S. regulations concerning foreign investment."

UANI finds this response to be an enormously insufficient one for a U.S. firm to make in the context of a discussion about fraudulent terror financing, and calls on Advanced Series Trust to reconsider its holding of Lebanese debt securities.

Said UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace:

Advanced Series Trust and Prudential fail to grasp the seriousness of investing in Iran-backed Lebanese bonds. Holding fraudulent bonds is negligent, and Advanced Series Trust's defense of its investments through carefully worded excuses even worse.

We call on Advanced Series Trust and Prudential to reconsider their obligations to their shareholders, and divest from Lebanese bonds. No legitimate firm should trade in Lebanese sovereign backed securities, given Hizballah and Iran's illicit control of the Lebanese banking system.

Last month, UANI announced the results of a three month-long investigation into the influence of Iran and Hizballah in the Lebanese banking system (LBS) and Lebanon's sovereign bond market, and announced a campaign to compel legitimate financial institutions into divesting from Lebanon's bond market.

UANI has previously announced that Erste-Sparinvest, Eaton Vance, Nord Est Asset Management, Aktia, and Ameriprise Financial have already divested from Lebanese bonds.

Click here to read the July 3 Wall Street Journal article, "Banks Get Pressed on Beirut."

Click here to view UANI's research, "HIZBALLAH, LEBANON & IRAN: PARTNERS IN A SOVEREIGN MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME."

Click here to call on the U.S. Government to Sanction the Lebanese Banking System and for Bond Holders and Credit Agencies to end Lebanon Business.

###