International, FSIA
Error for court below to use the Executive Order implementing sanctions to define the scope of foreign state entities under the FSIA. Definition comes from established constructions.
US corporate entities cannot equitably be read as alter egos of foreign citizens in order to qualify for the protections of a statute requiring foreign nationality. An equitable alter ego construction can, however, be used to establish the merits of a claim against the entity on behalf of the state.
Insufficient day-to-day control and disregard of the corporate form to establish entity's liability on behalf of the foreign state.
Although second statute is codified proximate to the FSIA, an agency or instrumentality might qualify under one but not the other, since the reference in one statute is to foreign states, and the other refers to terrorist organizations.
Alter ego implies a more profound degree of control than does agency/instrumentality.
Government had a possessory interest in the seized assets because the assets met the terms of the executive order, not because the court trustee had actual possession.
Kirschenbaum, et al. v. 650 Fifth Avenue and Related Properties
