NY DIVESTS $86.2M FROM COMPANIES LINKED TO IRAN, SUDAN

New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Tuesday that his state is withdrawing $86.2 million in state retirement fund investments from nine companies that do business with Iran and Sudan, Bloomberg reported. "These companies failed to meet even the minimum requirements of the risk mitigation programs we initiated two years ago," DiNapoli said, noting that Iran supports terrorism, is trying to become a nuclear power and has called for Israel’s destruction, while Sudan is committing genocide. "Can we afford to risk pension fund investments in nations led by these kinds of regimes?" he asked. Tuesday's announcement is the latest in a string of steps taken in New York relating to Iran's illicit nuclear pursuit. In April, the Manhattan district attorney's office charged a Chinese businessman and his company with a conspiracy relating to the sale of potential nuclear materials to Iran.