Financing Terrorism

[Petronas]

Saudis Hindering Terror Fight?
Feb 17, 2005 7:31 am US/Eastern

WASHINGTON (AP) Saudi Arabia's less-than-full cooperation has hindered U.S. efforts to choke off terrorist financing, a lawmaker said Wednesday, and a Bush administration official indicated the Saudis were being prodded. Juan Zarate, the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for terrorist financing, also said Treasury investigators have not found a direct link between al Qaeda and the illicit diamond trade in Africa but did not rule one out. "We have not seen direct links," Zarate said in testimony before the oversight panel of the House Financial Services Committee. Even without a direct tie, U.S. authorities are concerned that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden could be involved indirectly in trade in diamonds, gold and tanzanite or could become a direct participant, Zarate later told reporters.

Rep. Sue Kelly, who heads the subcommittee, asked Zarate at the hearing whether the Saudis have followed through on promises to take up such measures as setting up a financial intelligence unit and seizing assets of individuals believed to help fund terrorism. Despite Saudi Arabia's announcement in 2002 that it had established such an intelligence unit, there still appears to be no unit operating, Kelly said. She said the absence of one probably "slowed or entirely prevented action against terrorist activity" in several cases.

A spokesman at the Saudi Embassy in Washington disputed that, saying that a financial intelligence unit was established in the country in July 2003. "It's been set up, it's been functioning," the spokesman, Nail Al-Jubeir, said by telephone after the hearing. "We are working with the United States government to develop it."

Zarate said the Saudis had shown improved cooperation in freezing assets of suspect charities and other measures and "are taking this issue very seriously." He added, "We are constantly working with the Saudis to ensure" that they follow through. Al-Jubeir said his government was cooperating in the effort. "Both sides could do better, but the cooperation is working very well," he said. "If there are areas that we can improve, we will look into it."

Since the U.S. government intensified efforts against terrorist financing after the Sept. 11 attacks, its relationship with Saudi Arabia has been delicate. The long-standing ally — which is also the birthplace of bin Laden and 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers — has at times appeared reluctant to be a full partner in the U.S.-organized anti-terror coalition.

Al Qaeda launched a campaign in Saudi Arabia in May 2003, bombing Westerners' housing compounds in the capital, Riyadh. Earlier this month, the kingdom played host to an international anti-terrorism conference, where Saudi leaders expressed their commitment to fighting terrorism.

Some experts say there is evidence of al Qaeda's ties to the illicit African diamond trade. But U.S. intelligence officials and the independent Sept. 11 commission have maintained there is no conclusive proof that the terror network laundered millions of dollars through diamonds before staging the U.S. attacks. Al Qaeda and its affiliates have been linked to the heroin trade in Afghanistan, credit card fraud in Europe and the lucrative trade in counterfeit goods as means of financing their terrorist activities.

http://wcbs880.com/terror/terror_story_048073312.html

[Ernie]

What disturbs me on the topic of funding terrorism is that if the free world places an embargo on petroleum from oil-rich, terrorist-funding middle eastern countries, that will only place other industrial giants (emerging China & soon-to-be giant, India) in a favored position to purchase their petroleum. We are fighting a financial war and industrial war indirectly when we (the US) place sanctions or embargos on terrorist states. Just an industrial point of view.

[Casey]

Steps Against Terrorist Financing Risk Backfiring
Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:48 PM ET

By Caroline Drees, Security Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to regulate companies that transfer money are threatening to drive billions of dollars into an underground market where terrorist financiers can flourish, industry and other officials said.

The danger hinges on an increasing reluctance by banks to handle the accounts of thousands of so-called money service businesses that transfer much of an estimated $28 billion a year. Regulators have labeled the mostly small enterprises a "high risk" for money laundering or terrorist financing in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Without banks to transfer their funds, money service businesses face the choice of shutting down or moving money illegally through cash couriers or unlicensed businesses.

"We're shooting ourselves in both feet, with .44 Magnums. There are no toes left," said Michael McDonald, a retired special agent for the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division.

"It will substantially increase the risk of terror financing," McDonald said.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Wisconsin Democrat, said that with fewer banks doing business with MSBs, "There is added potential for funds to slip through the cracks of an under-regulated system into the hands of terrorists."

Isak Warsame, president of Ohio-based Dahabshil Inc., which says it remits roughly $80 million to $90 million a year to Somalia, said, "There are as many MSBs above ground as there are underground. Once this kind of situation arises, all of them or most of them will go underground."

Regulators are stepping up efforts to address the emerging risks.

"Money services businesses play a very important role in the U.S. economy and we certainly don't want to drive all that business underground," said Daniel Stipano, acting chief counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a banking regulator.

MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY

Before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, al Qaeda used money transmitters, including "hawala" money brokers, to move funds swiftly, cheaply and with almost no paper trail, casting a sudden spotlight on the sector.

Money service businesses are legal in the United States if they register with the Treasury and comply with strict rules imposed after the hijacked airliner attacks. About 22,350 MSBs were registered with the Treasury at latest count in December.

MSBs are frequently used by immigrants to send remittances back home, often just $100 or $200 at a time. MSBs collect the funds and use banks to make the international wire transfers. The latest official U.S. figures put remittances from the United States at $28 billion in 2003. That compares with total U.S. foreign direct investment of $27 billion.

But many banks say it has become too hard to ensure that even the licensed MSBs have met regulatory requirements, and fear regulatory fines or punishment if there is a problem.

John Byrne, head of the American Bankers Association's Center for Regulatory Compliance, confirmed some banks were eliminating MSB accounts because regulators had warned of risks without issuing clear enough guidelines on how to avoid them.

New York Rep. Charles Rangel, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives' powerful Ways and Means Committee, called on Treasury Secretary John Snow this month to address the problem.

At Snow's request, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is holding a meeting of regulators and industry officials on March 8, and says it is critical to address the concerns of both sides as soon as possible.

"Too many small businesses will be closed soon and too many fathers and mothers will lose their job if this situation continues," said Juan Tejeda of New York-based remitter Envios de Valores La Nacional, whose accounts are being closed by several banks.

Several letters sent to MSBs from banks, reviewed by Reuters, warned of account closures because of regulatory oversight demands or because it was not in the bank's interest to continue the service.

"My members are feeling like they're on death row," said David Landsman, head of the National Money Transmitters Association. "Some of our members are just counting the days until they are going to have to close their doors."

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-02-23T184810Z_01_N23395624_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-SECURITY-FINANCING-DC.XML

[al-Canine]

Don't buy that fake Rolex! It could finance terror

Thu Feb 24, 2005 01:56 PM ET
By Andrea Ricci

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Think twice before you buy that fake Rolex watch or knock-off designer handbag. The money you pay could be end up funding terrorists.

It's not something most shoppers think about when tempted by the cheap and increasingly abundant wares of street vendors. But law enforcers say the threat is real and probably growing.

There is evidence that counterfeiters operating in New York City have sent money to Hamas and Hezbollah, groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United States, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a conference on counterfeiting.

So far, said Kelly, there had been no clear link between the selling of counterfeit goods and al-Qaeda, the group blamed for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

But he said the low cost of entry into the counterfeit business, low risk of penalties and the potentially big payoff made the making and selling of fake goods an ideal criminal enterprise, one that would appeal to terrorists in the same way it attracts organized crime.

"What we do know for certain is that the counterfeit trade has all the ingredients for an ideal criminal enterprise," Kelly said.

According to estimates by the International Chamber of Commerce, counterfeit goods accounted for 6 percent of world trade, valued at about $456 billion.

Kelly said that in New York, counterfeiting deprives the city of nearly $1 billion in tax revenues every year. The costs to security are more difficult to quantify.

Juan Zarate, the U.S. Treasury Department's top terror funding cop, said terror groups have become more sophisticated in funding their activities as the United States and other countries crack down on money laundering through banks and other financial institutions.

Counterfeiting is one of the methods used by terrorists to raise cash, he said.

Zarate said the Treasury had "seen examples where traded goods have been used to support terrorist groups." But he added that it was often quite difficult to draw clear lines between the counterfeit trade and terrorists.

DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD

The link between terrorism and counterfeiting has not escaped the attention of luxury goods makers, which have long been fighting a battle to protect their lucrative trademarks.

It's worth millions in lost revenues to the companies, but they say it's not just about money.

Glossy magazine Harper's Bazaar has been trying to make the case to its fashion-conscious readers that the bargain bags they buy on the street might be made by child labor or to line the pockets of drug dealers or terrorists.

"While purchasing just one fake accessory on a street corner might seem like an amusement, this is a far more serious crime than most of the public understands," said Valerie Salembier, publisher of Harper's Bazaar, the sponsor of the counterfeiting conference.

Frederick Mostert, chairman of the Intellectual Property Group of the Walpole Committee, a trade association of British luxury goods makers, said it was impossible to make goods counterfeit-proof. "Anything can be faked," he said.

Consumer education was the key. But it was hard to convince buyers to avoid cheap fakes when the fakes themselves often were considered chic.

People must understand "it's not a $10 product. It's cash, it's money laundering, it's organized crime, it's child labor, it's linked to terrorism and to drugs," said Bertrand Stalla-Bourdillon, general manager at Louis Vuitton.

PUT 'EM IN JAIL?

France, which already has taken aim at organized criminals involved in counterfeiting, is now targeting average consumers, who face huge fines -- up to hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and even jail time if they are caught with fakes.

Throwing shoppers into prison is probably not on the agenda in the United States. But fighting counterfeiters would be easier if international laws were streamlined, advocates said.

"When you have the restrictions and limitations of territoriality confronting a global problem, where counterfeiters and pirates act without any boundaries, we've got a mess," said Timothy Trainer, president of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, a lobbying group.

Slashing prices on luxury goods to put them more within reach of less well-heeled fashion lovers and discourage the purchase of cheaper knock-offs was not a viable option, said Armando Branchini, Secretary General of Altagamma, the Italian association of high-end fashion companies.

"It's impossible to finance the product innovation of these brands and to support the contents of excellence, of quality they put in every phase of their business with prices comparable to those you can pay for fakes on Fifth Avenue or on Canal Street," he said. "So, it's absolutely impossible."

© Reuters 2005

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7731310&type=worldNews

[al-Canine]

World leaders focus on terrorists' funding

Group suggests independent global financial body

MADRID, Spain - Financial experts urged world leaders Wednesday to create a new international institution under U.N. auspices to study how terrorists raise money so ways can be found to cut the funds to al-Qaida and other violent movements.

The draft recommendation, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, and experts attending a terrorism conference said that some measures have been taken to curb terrorist financing — but not enough.

"Terrorist financing has not been recognized as a priority in the fight against terrorism," said Loretta Napoleoni, an expert on terrorist financing. "It would be much more efficient if we blocked the money. And we haven't done that."

World leaders and experts at the four-day summit on democracy, terrorism and security are grappling with ways to combat violence without jeopardizing human rights.

Fighting terrorism financing was seen as a possibility but is complicated, in part because terrorists raise funds by using legitimate businesses, besides kidnapping, drug dealing and credit card fraud.

"We don't have a clear image of how the money of terrorists moves around," said Petre Roman, a former prime minister of Romania. "We know that the most terrible acts have been committed with very little money."

The train bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004, cost as little as $1,300, Roman said, while the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide attacks in the United States cost no more than $500,000.

"Without an international effort, we cannot tackle this problem efficiently," he said. "We need to know how to pursue this money, and this cannot be done within the current legal framework."

Former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin stressed that international cooperation must take place within "the rule of law and respecting civil rights because they are the soul of democracy."

Jospin and others said the conference's draft recommendations will address the blocking of terrorists' financial networks.

The finance working group experts suggested that in addition to creating an independent finance center under U.N. auspices, a judicial review process should be put into place to place anti-terrorism measures within a legal framework.

The Club de Madrid group of former heads of government organized the conference and timed it to coincide with the anniversary of the Madrid train bombing, an attack that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,500.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was to present a special U.N. report on terrorism at the conference Thursday. Other world leaders to arrive Wednesday include Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will represent President Bush.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7139641/

[Petronas]

Terror victims sought for lawsuit against Arab Bank
Updated Mar. 18, 2005 5:36

An American law company which sued the Arab Bank branch in New York in December has launched a public relations campaign in Israel to find more
terror victims to add to that lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by Motley Rice LLP, was the second filed against the Arab Bank. In July, a group of American lawyers including David Wollmuth, Mark Werbner, Gary Osen and Andrew Friedman filed suit in the US District Court, the eastern district of New York, on behalf of the relatives of some 50 Americans and Israelis killed in terror attacks. A publicity firm in Israel involved in the new Motley Rice campaign did not know the exact number of victims represented in its suit. However, according to press reports, it already included 700 plaintiffs when it was originally submitted. The company has published large newspaper ads as part of its blitz, set up an Internet site and linked up with the Eitan Law Group in Israel, which will be processing the complaints. The New York-based company specializes in class-action suits and represented the plaintiffs in a successful lawsuit against the tobacco companies in the US, and is currently representing the families of the victims of the World Trade Center terrorist bombing on September 11, 2001.

Both of the lawsuits charged, among other things, that the Arab Bank served as a funnel for channeling donations from alleged Islamic charitable associations to terrorist organizations operating in the West Bank and Gaza. The money was allegedly used to pay allowances to the families of suicide
bombers.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1111030178298

[al-Canine]

U.S. Seeks Access to Bank Records to Deter Terror

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=120568

[Atlas]

World leaders focus on terrorists' funding

Group suggests independent global financial body

MADRID, Spain - Financial experts urged world leaders Wednesday to create a new international institution under U.N. auspices to study how terrorists raise money so ways can be found to cut the funds to al-Qaida and other violent movements.

The draft recommendation, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, and experts attending a terrorism conference said that some measures have been taken to curb terrorist financing — but not enough.


http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7139641/

Ummmm, Yeeeeeah, I want Kofi to have access to my bank account. It's not enough that his outfit is running the food for oil program and other such clean as the driven snow programs.

I think he should have access to the worlds bank accounts too. That'll happen some time soon

:mad_13: :mad_13: :mad_13: :mad_13:

[al-Canine]

Middle Eastern bank under U.S. scrutiny

Arab Bank PLC has branch in New York City

NBC News Investigative Unit

U.S. officials tell NBC News that U.S. banking regulators have uncovered evidence that a prominent Middle Eastern bank with a branch in New York City, Arab Bank PLC, has had dozens of suspected terrorists as its customers. The customers, allegedly associated with terror groups including al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah, are responsible for hundreds of transactions at the Arab Bank, according to the officials.

The U.S. officials also tell NBC News that the U.S. bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), has now referred the Arab Bank case to the Justice Department's terror-financing section for potential prosecution. A Justice Department spokesman would not comment.

The OCC matched the names of suspected terrorists against lists of Arab Bank customers, as well as others who sent or received wire transfers through the bank, and got hundreds of hits, the U.S. officials say.

After completing its investigation, which started last summer, the OCC forced the bank to shutter most of its operations here in the United States -- forbidding the Arab Bank from taking deposits or transferring money through its New York City (Madison Avenue) branch.

The OCC announced that extraordinary action in February, but did not publicly reveal the basis for its findings.

Officials speaking on behalf of the Arab Bank tell NBC News that the bank has never knowingly moved money to, or done any business with, terrorists. The same officials say that OCC regulations prohibit them from discussing the specifics of the case. They point out that the bank does billions of dollars of business a year, and that it is extremely difficult to determine the true identity of customers and others who wire funds through the bank.
Most importantly, the officials say, the Arab Bank has never done business with anyone who at the time was officially designated a terrorist by the U.S. government. With regard to the criminal referral to the Justice Department, a spokesman for the Arab Bank had no comment.
A spokesman for the OCC would not comment on the allegations, describing the Arab Bank matter as an "open-enforcement case." But he added: "There were issues about the completeness and accuracy of information given to us, and materials provided to us, by the Arab Bank."

An Arab Bank spokesman denies that and tells NBC News that Arab Bank has fully cooperated with the OCC.

-- By Adam Ciralsky and Jim Popkin

© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7565035/

[al-Canine]

Al Qaeda has cash flow problems: US

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda, a senior US official says, is now “hurting for money” because of US-based oversight of money-transfer operation by charities in Islamic countries, principally Saudi Arabia, and pressure on Arab governments to tighten their control over money given for charity going to terrorist groups or towards the promotion of extremist ideologies.

Stuart Levey, Undersecretary at the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Department of the Treasury, said this on Wednesday in testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Non-proliferation.

Levey said intelligence reports speak of the difficulty with which terrorists are raising, moving, and storing money. “We are seeing terrorist groups avoiding formal financing channels and instead resorting to riskier and more cumbersome conduits like bulk cash smuggling. And, most importantly, we have indications that terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Hamas are feeling the pressure and are hurting for money.” He said the US is threatened not only by known financiers but also by those “we don't know and those who may join their ranks in the future.”

He said reports had confirmed that once-willing donors are now thinking twice or balking altogether at sending money to terrorist groups. “We are tracking and disrupting the flow of funds to terror in every area of the globe,” he added. On a recent visit to Syria, he told the committee, Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser had delivered a series of demands to Syrian authorities, ranging from reform of their banking sector to immediate, effective action to cut the flow of funds and other support across the Syrian border to the Iraqi insurgency. “We made clear that Syria would either take effective steps to address our long list of concerns, or we would cut it off from our financial system,” he added. He expressed dissatisfaction with the adequacy of Syrian response to American demands.

Levey said terrorist groups have long exploited charities for their own reasons. The “legitimate” activities of these charities, such as the operation of schools, religious institutions, and hospitals, create fertile recruitment grounds, allowing terrorists to generate support for their causes and to propagate extremist ideologies. Charities attract large numbers of unwitting donors along with the witting, thus increasing the amount of money available to terrorists. To the extent that these charities provide genuine relief, which nearly all of them do, they benefit from public support and an attendant disinclination by many governments to take enforcement action against them. He said the US had persuaded other nations, including Saudi Arabia, to join Washington in bringing suspicious charities to the United Nations Security Council for designation, and to shutter these dangerous organisations in their respective countries.

He told the committee, “We are of course cognisant that well-intentioned donors have given money to some of the same charities abused by terrorist organisations. It is painful when funds and services donated with the intention of providing legitimate relief do not reach their intended and needy beneficiaries. But frustration with this situation must be directed at those who have corrupted the charities that have - either through wilfulness or wilful blindness -been used to support terrorism. We recognise that enforcement actions have sometimes also cut off sources of relief to communities in need and inadvertently decreased the support of charities and donors that deliver funds to legitimate causes. Our goal is not to deter charitable giving but instead to protect the charitable sector such that donors' generosity is not abused and they feel safe in providing their contributions.”

Turning to Kuwait, one of the Arab countries Levey dealt with in his testimony, he said the US had asked its government to intensify its battle against terrorist financing. “Saudi Arabia, too, has worked with us to some extent to address vulnerabilities in its charitable sector. The Saudis have taken proactive steps including the banning transfers of money from charitable accounts abroad. The Saudi government had announced that it would freeze all international transfers until it had established an oversight commission to regulate its charitable sector. “While that would represent a satisfactory short-term solution if actually implemented, it is important that the announced commission take shape. It is particularly important that charities like the International Islamic Relief Organisation (IIRO), the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY), and the Muslim World League (MWL) - expressly excluded from the commission - become subject to its oversight once it is finalised. In addition to the export of terrorist funds from Saudi Arabia, we are extremely concerned with the export of terrorist ideologies that promote war and killing in the name of religion. These distorted ideologies are just as indispensable to terrorists as money, and possibly even more pernicious. We must do all we can to ensure that extremist, violent ideologies are not exported under the cover of religious organisations, charities, or schools,” he stressed.


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-5-2005_pg7_39

[al-Canine]

Hezbollah pushes Prada?

Law enforcement officials testify that terror groups may be fund-raising through counterfeit goods.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - While the savvy bargain hunter can tell the real Coach handbag from a fake, many discerning buyers are missing one critical detail -- that purse or DVD for sale on the street corner might be funding a terrorist organization.

Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee in Washington yesterday, law enforcement officers warned that terrorist groups such as Hezbollah are generating revenue by pushing knockoff handbags, T-shirts and other accessories sold on the street and at flea markets across the country.

Lt. John Stedman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was among those who testified that items such as counterfeit Coach and Louis Vuitton purses as well as CDs, DVDs and tobacco were among goods that have been seized and linked to terrorist organizations.

In Los Angeles County alone, the Sheriff's Department reports that officers have arrested 125 individuals, and seized $16M in knock-off items and $3.5 million in cash.

The California law enforcement agency said it established a connection between the street vendors and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah mostly through admission by those arrested.

Despite the amount of revenue generated, many individuals have had a difficult time moving the money to overseas terror groups. According to the department, in the homes of one of the suspected individuals, an investigator discovered $800,000 in cash hidden in black trash bags under beds and more than $10,000 in a child's piggy bank.

"As a result of these kinds of cases, the joint task force is working effectively towards preventing these kinds of crime from occurring in the future and intercepting the money before it goes to its intended recipient," said Steve Whitmore, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, noting that the department is monitoring overseas wire transfers to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. *
*
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/26/news/terror_knockoffs/index.htm?cnn=yes

[al-Canine]

I'm not sure where this thread went, but I can't find it, so here's a new thread. Mod, feel free to merge.

U.S. regulators issue Bank Secrecy Act exam manual
Reuters
Thursday, June 30, 2005; 11:39 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. banking regulators on Thursday issued a long-awaited set of unified standards for bank examiners evaluating financial institutions' compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, an anti-money laundering law.

The 330-page manual does not set new rules or offer new guidance, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, a group of financial regulatory agencies.

Instead, the compilation of existing guidance on a variety of BSA-related topics, including reporting suspicious activity and possible terrorism financing, is designed to end confusion about what banks should expect and to ensure examiners stick to a single framework at all financial institutions.

U.S. banks have complained that federal regulators kept moving the goalposts by using different examination standards when checking for BSA compliance -- a subject that has gained increased attention in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The concerns have been particularly strong since regulators last year imposed high-profile sanctions on Riggs bank, a unit of Riggs National Corp., for BSA compliance failures.

"This is not just a small step. This is a major step to what we've been asking for the past year, really since the post-Riggs reaction by all the agencies. This will address a lot of those concerns," said John Byrne, a senior official at the American Bankers Association.

The regulators said the new manual emphasizes banks' responsibility to establish and implement risk-based policies, procedures and processes to comply with the law and keep their institutions from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Federal banking regulators will begin using the manual in the third quarter, the regulators said.

"This inter-agency manual is a significant step toward consistency in the area of anti-money laundering examination," said Federal Reserve Gov. Susan Bies. "The new manual promotes a shared understanding of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations and supervisory expectations."

The 1970 Bank Secrecy Act was enacted to prevent U.S. banks and financial service providers from being used as intermediaries for criminal activity, or to hide the movement of money derived from criminal activity. It has won renewed prominence in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Regulators also set dates in August for conference calls and meetings with the banking industry to discuss the examination manual and compliance programs.

"It's not going to be a silver bullet to (end) all confusion, but it is certainly a major effort to have all the agencies working together to produce this. There's a commitment on the part of the government that we've never seen before," the ABA's Byrne said.

"We're still going to monitor how it works in practice and ask our banks to give us examples where they think interpretations are being made up on the ground, but I think this will make it more difficult for that to occur because there will be something to point to," he said.
©*2005*Reuters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/30/AR2005063000845.html

[al-Canine]

U.S. Says Mideast Must Crack Down on Terror Finance

By REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Middle Eastern countries must do much more to fight terrorism financing, and Washington will push these states to take action if they fail to do it on their own, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday.

Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said some progress had been made in the region, such as passing anti-money laundering laws and cracking down on the abuse of charities. But he called for more evidence that the steps were actually bearing fruit.

``We have a long way to go in the battle against terrorist financing in the Middle East,'' Levey said in testimony to the Senate banking committee.

``Where the threat of terrorism does not generate the will to take effective action ... my office, working in close cooperation with all of our interagency counterparts, will push for action,'' he said.

In the past, U.S. steps have included diplomatic pressure, as well as economic sanctions such as freezing funds.

Levey said some Middle Eastern countries had still not passed adequate anti-money laundering laws, ensured laws were actually enforced, established controls over informal cash transfers, or set up financial intelligence units to help fight dirty money.

Levey specifically cited long-standing shortcomings in Saudi Arabia and Syria. He said the United States was using a combination of pressure and cooperation to get the kingdom -- birthplace of most of the Sept. 11 hijackers -- to comply.

``Even today, we believe that private Saudi donors may still be a significant source of terrorist financing, including for the insurgency in Iraq,'' he said.

The undersecretary said Syria continued to ``meddle'' in the affairs of its neighbor Lebanon, was a source and conduit for funds to Iraqi insurgents, and allowed terrorist groups to flourish on its soil.

The United States has already slapped a series of sanctions on Syria and has blocked the assets of some of its nationals -- including its interior minister -- to press for change.

Levey also said cash couriers presented a particularly serious danger, in part because they were being used to fund militants in Iraq.

``It is critical that Gulf countries and countries throughout the Middle East lower their reporting thresholds for cross-border transfers of cash and enforce these provisions aggressively,'' he said.

Levey said the United States wanted to see proof -- such as arrests, cash seizures and blocking of accounts -- that policies against dirty money were not only being adopted, but implemented and enforced.

``Some countries, eager to curry favor with their neighbors or the international community, may believe that adopting an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law will keep observers at bay. Such half-steps will neither fool nor satisfy the United States and the international community.''


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-security-usa-financing.html

[rectar]

Times Arabs knew that happening is several documents in the intelligence purchase (élamreekeea) . Existing had unfolded of a relation in Afghanistan what for the sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashed Al-Maktoum in Usama . Bin Laden private a distance appeared most automobiles which found are covered near caves Thor . Bura came from Dubai to Afghanistan and believes many these automobiles familiarize ownership. Mohammad for, the sheikh, Crown Prince Dubai which built a runway Qandahar was private near an airfield utilize also. Newspapers mentioned (élamreekeea) during the hunting trips and hunting conduct privately to Afghanistan in her . In most while Nashat Bin Laden and Mulla constructed a relation between him and between Usama made especially. Sheikh Mohammad of Al-Qaeda Organization (éhm) ..

The inquiry marks were Ben Rashed about the Mohammad relation Al-Maktoum in Usama Bin Laden . (étheert) lately a distance the captain (émreekeea) parties uncovered of the Laden son had received the treatment in. One the Dubai hospitals..

It is known the reform association was in Dubai a base. A association was major for Arabs (élafghan) enlisting and a senior officer chairs in the intelligence. The consequent for bear and Mohammad assumes Ben Rashed Al-Maktoum presidency.. And a harmony for this the sources. Sheikh Mohammad is (wabàada) for the suspicion were an airfield to accredit Sharjah in the Al-Qaeda supply and Usama . Bin Laden in needs.... And most the suspects and the exchange offices which implicated in events. September falls in Dubai.

Journalists exiled Balsheikh on an impending tag by an other Mohammad Ben Rashed is the sheikh on. A relation in the Usama operations Bin Laden and squad did not exile a tag existence between the two men. Strengthened during the hunting trips and hunting in the Afghanistan mountains... And a harmony are the sheikh. Mohammad known Ben Rashed in feeling in a node the inferior a permanent reptile on the of famous approach in. All domains on fame in the living intention.... And he an example thrusts benefit amounts for the singers. Awake Kazem model on and Majedah Al-Roumi for enrich weak poems wrote and she . (éghneeat) does not present Dubai except from a television and the definition occurs (élaghneea) appeared in foreground. Poems Ben Rashed Mohammad (élameer) Al-Maktoum (mà) (én) although titled (élameer) . Changed circulating in the emirates... Sheikh and Mohammad television fame (éàjbth) Youssef for the sheikh. (élqrdhaouee) and a senior finance reward accelerated to grants for name be linked in a name. (élqrdhaouee) .... And he what the sheikh makes with races repeals the horse (élanjleez) ....On him and are . Sheikh Mohammad watch over on in Usama a relation (éqama) Bin Laden and the travel to Afghanistan for Tunisia. With him and hunted the bustard and the birds enter only within this self-interested opportunist desire for the sheikh. Mohammad is not Bin Laden in the Usama ideas for the sheikh conviction.

The emirates sheikhs on Moloa the public Usama Bin Laden and Marwan Al-Shahiy . Which led the aircraft which hit the second turret a citizen was Emirates of Ras al-Khaymah . The two birds study and in Germany on the Abu Dhabi defense force charge Sheikh Mohammad chairs. Bin outbid and raved the ignorant sheikh which did not complete scholastic education enlisting occurred in the emirates. An association knew (élamoual) in grouping in role by the reform association in Dubai and she and enlisting. The men for Usama Bin Laden ..

Perhaps this annotates (élzeearatalmkoukeea) to Washington for the Zayid children. In an attempt forgiveness in front of (éladaraalamreekeea) because of the (wadla) documents existence on an involvement for whitening. Emirates physical and moral with the terrorists..... And raved he which thrust a minister. Off-shore Sheikh Hamdan and in helps from father in the flight. During which caught the photos privately in a sudden visit to Washington. With President Bush and appear the sheikh carried an application present with him to (washntoun) stay in an fold. The secrecy and a Saudi citizen name arrested a slave in Umm Al-Qaywayn . Al-Nasheri Gracious prescribed the " Al-Qaeda organization official in the Gulf area in universe, were. Receives lessons in the flight near the strategic ferries for the ships in the Hermes strait,. As usual and secret (émreeka) call for did not abide Emirates where deployment occurred. Forthwith the order thrust Emirates official communique confessed in him in a delivery to (ésdar) . Al-Nasheri to (émreeka) after detention in Umm Al-Qaywayn ..

And the question: what thrust Emirates to a Saudi citizen delivery to and for Yass (émreeka) . To Saudi Arabia an example?

It is known the emirates sheikhs apparently implicate in the terrorism or in an other.... And two bitter Al-Shahiy . Which hit the second turret as diminished not was a citizen. Emirates merely but he sent to Germany by the Abu Dhabi defense force.... And financing. The operation all occurred through Abu Dhabi in wildebeest.... And the automobiles which found in Afghanistan. Most Emirates automobiles but and discovered (élamreekeeoun) Sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashed had built. Two landing strips to handle in Afghanistan Usama Bin Laden ..... And a name passed Sheikh Mohammad. Bin Zayid the corners president Zayid and the sheikh son crisscross with all these detections where appear. He is were finance the reform association in Dubai and she an association related a document in Usama Bin Laden . And Taliban movement and eighties utilized enlisting for the Taliban as a shop in a beginning..

The emirates sheikhs which continue (émreeka) cursing realized in newspapers and televisions they are will. Are console (lamreeka) from Bandar (élameer) and wife accused. In financing one terrorists.... (ldha) therefore (éeeat) inspected the allegiance of a means for a submission. And the obedience for white peyote and found on her in Abed Al-Rahman, the Saudi citizen personality,. Required Al-Nasheri (émreekeea) .... Arrested privately (ldha) and (lamreeka) submitted privately call for and. The administration (élamreekeea) the retention on the theme in the secrecy fold.... But hunting valuable. Was bigger the closed rooms back remains (ldha) therefore (élamreekeeoun) accelerated to the declaration of him . The order which Sheikh Zayid had data which confessed in him to (ésdar) he is he which submitted. Al-Nasheri (lamreeka) ....

Except them from this and the emirates sheikhs stayed of the involvement in distant place facing open with. Al-Qaeda Organization for the organization elements in the emirates.... And possibility the reply. In emirates sheikhs hunt one one private demolish the summer in Britain mobile. Between stables and the gambling districts..

And the Al-Nasheri delivery story New York Times rote (louashntoun) .... Officials had reached. The intelligence (élamreekeeeen) to Al-Nasheri played a senior role in planning for the attack on. The destroyer " Kol the American mined in 2000 in a bay, and in planning for the embassy explosion. The American in Neirobi public..1998 and powers said the United Arab Emirates country he is. Were plan the United States in Gulf against interests for terrorist attacks,. The American ships, Qai seizing on him ..... And seems this Emirates declaration. Importance giving wanted Al-Nasheri and delivery for a detention (lamreeka) reduced the prison in a magnification and a magnification. Seriousness..

And after detention - say New York Times - slow down Al-Nasheri to a private site for the inquiries. An agency established " (see). .A verse..E " in Jordan, until manage of the inquiry with the " Al-Qaeda elements. Away from taken the American laws.. And cans the countries in some for intelligence service . The friendly Arabic for the United States (élaouleea) aids with suspect in the inquiries. And interest and received on them , pursuant to the laws which close in state of war , calculated. The one statements officers " (see). .A verse..E "..

An official had declined (élajaba) of questions about the inquiry site which happens of him in the agency. Arab officials governments cooperate with the United States ..

As and the countersign (édlt) the (émneea) sources processed Al-Nasheri receiving in Gulf in him training on. The two birds in the minor Umm Al-Qaywayn emirate, depart a public sign to one commanders. " the Al-Qaeda planned aerial attacks in a stage for launching maybe after attacks 11 September (éeeloul) . ..2001 and Boust (élouashntoun) said not make succeed all attempts in the two birds school for the link. Through the telephone for obtainment ..

The officials are senior and with that said in the American administration that do not know an alarm. Plug in to the friendly countries after the detention incident, for the law application powers alert in that. The countries checked flight Madras in her to an importance and a tag any personalities were there. " the Al-Qaeda students media, especially joining in that Madras (meesour) for all call for ..
Reach American foreign minister Colin Powel , in the Al-Nasheri detention on 8 November Tishrin . Second past, Bin Sheikh Hamdan outbid of Emirates counterpart..

And an one American administration officials senior said that Powell thanked Sheikh Hamdan and acquiesced on an nonexistence. The detention uncovered. But after two weeks, leaked news. The detention for some newspapers and distance the Arabic the American officials emphasized a detention news. Al-Nasheri in the Gulf area, but declined details giving increased.. And declined uncovering also of. The Al-Nasheri activities in which find in her lessons in the two birds..

With and Al-Nasheri a child is intelligence officer in Mecca, say he is of a Yemeni ancestry.. . One uncovered February 1998 in February for, the first time, from " Al-Qaeda acitvists in consideration of him ,. Arresting a from suspect in them number lay down the Saudi powers were try. Missiles smuggling counteracting sovietism returns to the era for the tanks, from Yemen to. Saudi Arabia, dangle the former Saudi, the intelligence equipment president, in her according to statements and an ambassador. The kingdom new has Britain, Faysal Turkish (élameer) .. And said the Saudi officials. Received while confessed on them Al-Nasheri commander..

And during the years past (élarbà) , an shade Al-Nasheri works in Yemen in an open facsimile and departs. Freely there to Pakistan and Afghanistan, what caused the diplomacy of the tensions much.. And the American officials say that Al-Nasheri enlisted one relatives for the truck command. August exploded outside the American embassy in Neirobi on 7 August.1998 and for how clear Yass . Al-Nasheri managed, 36 years, United Arab Emirates accessing this autumn, and no parties. Which afforded from her , but was said that was a topic acquiesced under the emphasized censure for several weeks. Seizing on him .. And said the officials he is were live a lavish life regarding an acquisition especially. The majestic automobiles



خاص بعرب تايمز

علمت عرب تايمز ان وقوع العديد من الوثائق في قبضة الاستخبارات الامريكية الموجودة في افغانستان قد تكشف عن علاقة ما للشيخ محمد بن راشد المكتوم باسامة بن لادن بخاصة بعد ان تبين ان معظم السيارات التي وجدت مغطاة قرب كهوف تورا بورا جاءت الى افغانستان من دبي ويعتقد كثيرون ان هذه السيارات تعود ملكيتها للشيخ محمد ولي عهد دبي الذي بنى مدرجا خاصا قرب مطار قندهار كان يستخدمه كما ذكرت الصحف الامريكية خلال رحلات القنص والصيد التي يقوم بها الى افغانستان سرا في اكثر الاحيان حيث نشات بينه وبين اسامة بن لادن والملا عمر علاقة خاصة جعلت الشيخ محمد من اهم ممولي تنظيم القاعدة .

وكانت علامات الاستفهام حول علاقة محمد بن راشد المكتوم باسامة بن لادن قد اثيرت مؤخرا بعد ان كشفت جهات امريكية النقاب عن ان ابن لادن قد تلقى العلاج في احدى مستشفيات دبي .

من المعروف ان جمعية الاصلاح في دبي كانت قاعدة رئيسية لتجنيد الافغان العرب وهي جمعية كان يترأسها ضابط كبير في المخابرات التابعة لدبي والتي يتولى محمد بن راشد المكتوم رئاستها . ووفقا لهذه المصادر فان الشيخ محمد وابعادا للشبهة كان يعتمد مطار الشارقة في تزويد القاعدة واسامة بن لادن باحتياجاته ... ومعظم المشبوهين ومكاتب الصرافة التي تورطت في احداث سبتمبر تقع في دبي .

من جانب اخر نفى صحفيون على معرفة قريبة بالشيخ محمد بن راشد ان يكون الشيخ على علاقة بعمليات اسامة بن لادن وجماعته وان لم ينفوا وجود معرفة بين الرجلين توطدت خلال رحلات الصيد والقنص في جبال افغانستان ... ووفقا لهؤلاء فان الشيخ محمد بن راشد المعروف باحساسه بعقدة النقص داب دائما على التقرب من المشاهير في كل المجالات بقصد التعيش على شهرتهم ... فهو مثلا يدفع مبالغ طائلة للمطربين مثل كاظم الساهر واصالة وماجدة الرومي من اجل ان يغنوا قصائد ركيكة كتبها وهي اغنيات لا تعرض الا من تلفزيون دبي ويتم التعريف في مقدمتها بان الاغنية من قصائد الامير محمد بن راشد المكتوم مع ان لقب الامير غير متداول في الامارات ... والشيخ محمد اعجبته الشهرة التلفزيونية للشيخ يوسف القرضاوي فسارع الى منحه مكافأة مالية كبيرة من اجل ان يقترن اسمه باسم القرضاوي ... وهو ما يفعله الشيخ مع ابطال سباقات الخيل الانجليز ...وعليه فان حرص الشيخ محمد على اقامة علاقة باسامة بن لادن والسفر الى افغانستان للتونس معه وصيد الحبارى والطيور يدخل فقط ضمن هذه الرغبة الوصولية الانتهازية للشيخ محمد وليس لقناعة الشيخ محمد بافكار اسامة بن لادن .

شيوخ الامارات على العموم مولوا اسامة بن لادن ومروان الشحي الذي قاد الطائرة التي ضربت البرج الثاني هو مواطن اماراتي من رأس الخيمة كان يدرس الطيران ففي المانيا على نفقة قوة دفاع ابو ظبي التي يترأسها الشيخ محمد بن زايد وهذا الشيخ الجاهل الذي لم يكمل تعليمه المدرسي في الامارات تم تجنيده من قبل جمعية الاصلاح في دبي وهي جمعية عرفت بدورها في جمع الاموال وتجنيد الرجال لاسامة بن لادن . لعل هذا يفسر الزياراتالمكوكية لاولاد زايد الى واشنطن في محاولة لتبييض صفحتهم امام الادارةالامريكية بسبب وجود وثائق وادلة على تورط اماراتي مادي ومعنوي مع الارهابيين .... وهذا هو الذي دفع وزير الخارجية الشيخ حمدان وبتعليمات من ابيه بالطيران الى واشنطن سرا في زيارة مفاجئة التقط خلالها الصور مع الرئيس بوش وتبين ان الشيخ حمل معه الى واشنطون هدية طلب ان تظل في طي الكتمان وهي مواطن سعودي اعتقل في ام القيوين اسمه عبد الرحمن الناشري وصف بكونه مسؤول تنظيم "القاعدة" في منطقة الخليج، كان يتلقى دروسا في الطيران بالقرب من المعابر الاستراتيجية للسفن في مضيق هرمز، وكالعادة لم تلتزم امريكا بالسرية التي طلبها الاماراتيون حيث تم نشر الخبر فورا الامر الذي دفع الاماراتيين الى اصدار بيان رسمي اعترفوا فيه بتسليم الناشري الى امريكا بعد اعتقاله في ام القيوين .

والسؤال هو : ما الذي دفع الاماراتيين الى تسليم مواطن سعودي الى امريكا وليس الى السعودية مثلا ؟

من المعروف ان شيوخ الامارات تورطوا في الارهاب بشكل او باخر ... فمروان الشحي الذي ضرب البرج الثاني كما قلنا لم يكن مواطنا اماراتيا فحسب بل هو مبعوث الى المانيا من قبل قوة دفاع ابو ظبي ... وتمويل العملية كلها تم من خلال بنوك ابو ظبي ... والسيارات التي وجدت في افغانستان معظمها سيارات اماراتية بل واكتشف الامريكيون ان الشيخ محمد بن راشد قد بنى مهبطا للطائرات في افغانستان ليستعمله اسامة بن لادن .... ومر اسم الشيخ محمد بن زايد رئيس الاركان وابن الشيخ زايد متقاطعا مع كل هذه الاكتشافات حيث تبين انه كان يمول جمعية الاصلاح في دبي وهي جمعية ذات صلة وثيقة باسامة بن لادن وحركة طالبان واستخدمت في مطلع الثمانينات كمركز تجنيد لطالبان .

شيوخ الامارات الذين يواصلون شتم امريكا في صحفهم وتلفزيوناتهم ادركوا انهم لن يكونوا اعز لامريكا من الامير بندر وزوجته اللذين اتهما بتمويل احد الارهابيين ... لذا فتشوا عن وسيلة لتقديم ايات الولاء والطاعة للبيت الابيض وعثروا عليها في شخصية المواطن السعودي عبد الرحمن الناشري المطلوب امريكيا ... لذا اعتقلوه سرا وسلموه سرا لامريكا وطلبوا من الادارة الامريكية الابقاء على الموضوع في طي الكتمان ... ولكن الصيد الثمين كان اكبر من ان يبقى وراء الغرف المغلقة لذا سارع الامريكيون الى الاعلان عنه الامر الذي اضطر الشيخ زايد الى اصدار بيانه الذي اعترف فيه انه هو الذي سلم الناشري لامريكا ...

والاهم من هذا ان شيوخ الامارات ظلوا بمنأى عن التورط في مواجهة مكشوفة مع تنظيم القاعدة لان للتنظيم عناصرة في الامارات ... ولان بامكان التنظيم الرد بتصيد شيوخ الامارات واحدا واحدا بخاصة وانهم يقضون الصيف في بريطانيا متنقلين بين اسطبلاتهم ومحلات القمار .

وحكاية تسليم الناشري لواشنطون روتها نيويورك تايمز ... فقد توصل مسؤولو الاستخبارات الامريكيين الى ان الناشري لعب دوراً كبيراً في التخطيط للهجوم على المدمرة الاميركية "كول" في خليج عدن عام 2000، وفي التخطيط لتفجير السفارة الاميركية في نيروبي عام .1998 وقالت سلطات دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة انه كان يخطط لهجمات ارهابية ضد مصالح الولايات المتحدة في الخليج، بما في ذلك السفن الاميركية، عندما القي القبض عليه.... ويبدو ان هذا الاعلان الاماراتي اراد اعطاء اهمية لاعتقال الناشري وتسليمه لامريكا بتكبير حجم المعتقل وتكبير خطورته .

وبعد اعتقاله - تقول نيويورك تايمز - ارسل الناشري الى موقع خاص للتحقيقات انشأته وكالة "سي.آي.إيه" في الاردن، حتى تتمكن من التحقيق مع عناصر "القاعدة" بعيدا عن متناول القوانين الاميركية. ويمكن لأجهزة الاستخبارات في بعض الدول العربية الصديقة للولايات المتحدة ان تساعد في التحقيقات الاولية مع المشتبه فيهم والمقبوض عليهم، وذلك بموجب القوانين التي تطبق في حالة الحرب، حسب تصريحات احد ضباط "سي.آي.إيه".

وقد رفض مسؤول في الوكالة الاجابة عن اسئلة حول موقع التحقيق الذي تحدث عنه مسؤولون عرب تتعاون حكوماتهم مع الولايات المتحدة.

وكان التصريح الذي ادلت به مصادر امنية في الخليج حول تلقي الناشري تدريبات على الطيران في امارة ام القيوين الصغيرة، اول اشارة علنية الى ان احد قادة "القاعدة" ربما خطط لشن هجمات جوية في مرحلة ما بعد هجمات 11 سبتمبر ايلول .2001 وقالت الواشنطون بوست انه لم تنجح كل المحاولات للاتصال بمدرسة الطيران عن طريق الهاتف بهدف الحصول على تعليقات.

ومع ذلك فان كبار المسؤولين بالادارة الاميركية قالوا انهم لا يعلمون ان تحذيرا وصل الى الدول الصديقة بعد حادثة الاعتقال، لتنبيه سلطات تطبيق القانون في تلك الدول الى اهمية فحص مدراس الطيران فيها ومعرفة ما اذا كانت هناك اية شخصيات من "القاعدة" وسط طلابها، خاصة ان الانخراط في تلك المدراس ميسور لكل من يطلبه.
وابلغ وزير الخارجية الاميركي كولن باول، باعتقال الناشري يوم 8 نوفمبر تشرين الثاني الماضي، من نظيره الاماراتي الشيخ حمدان بن زايد.

وقال احد كبار مسؤولي الادارة الاميركية ان باول شكر الشيخ حمدان ووافق على عدم كشف الاعتقال. ولكن بعد اسبوعين، سربت اخبار الاعتقال لبعض الصحف العربية، وبعدها اكد المسؤولون الاميركيون خبر اعتقال الناشري في منطقة الخليج، لكنهم رفضوا اعطاء تفاصيل اكثر. ورفضوا كذلك الكشف عن نشاطات الناشري بما فيها تلقيه دروساً في الطيران.

ومع ان الناشري ولد في مكة، فان ضباط الاستخبارات يقولون انه من اصل يمني. وقد كشف عنه باعتباره واحداً من نشطاء "القاعدة"، لأول مرة، في فبراير شباط 1998، بعد أن ألقت السلطات السعودية القبض على عدد من المشتبه فيهم كانوا يحاولون تهريب صواريخ مضادة للدبابات ترجع الى الحقبة السوفياتية، من اليمن الى السعودية، حسب تصريحات ادلى بها رئيس جهاز الاستخبارات السعودي السابق وسفير المملكة الجديد لدى بريطانيا، الامير تركي الفيصل. وقال المسؤولون السعوديون ان المقبوض عليهم اعترفوا حينها بأن قائدهم هو الناشري.

وخلال السنوات الاربع الماضية، ظل الناشري يعمل بصورة مكشوفة في اليمن ويذهب بحرية من هناك الى باكستان وافغانستان، مما سبب كثيرا من التوترات الدبلوماسية. ويقول المسؤولون الاميركيون ان الناشري جند احد اقربائه لقيادة الشاحنة التي انفجرت خارج السفارة الاميركية في نيروبي يوم 7 اغسطس آب .1998 وليس واضحا كيف استطاع الناشري، 36 سنة، دخول الامارات العربية المتحدة هذا الخريف، ولا الجهة التي قدم منها، ولكن قيل انه كان موضوعا تحت الرقابة المشددة لعدة اسابيع قبل القبض عليه. وقال المسؤولون انه كان يعيش حياة مسرفة وخاصة في ما يتعلق باقتناء السيارات الفخمة.

[Petronas]

US says letter shows Al-Qaeda hurting for cash
Washington, November 17, 2005

A recent letter attributed by the United States to top Al-Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahri is a fresh sign the militant network is facing financial troubles, a senior US Treasury official said on Wednesday. "There's ... a passage in there where Zawahri says to Zarqawi: I'm out of money. Send me money. I don't have any money," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy, so I look at that as a good thing. Zawahri's out of money. Glass-half-empty people would say, well, he thinks Zarqawi has got so much money he's got it to spare," he said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation think tank.

US intelligence officials released the purported letter from Zawahri to Zarqawi last month, but Al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq rejected it as a fabrication. The letter has Zawahri telling Zarqawi: "We need a payment while new (financial supply) lines are being opened. So, if you are capable of sending a payment of approximately one hundred thousand (dollars), we'll be very grateful to you." US security officials have repeatedly said they are confident of the letter's authenticity, but some US terrorism experts say its style and some of the content -- including the request for money -- made them concerned it might be a fake.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1548374,00050001.htm

[al-Canine]

U.S. Lacks Plan to Curb Terror Funds, Agency Says

By ERIC LICHTBLAU

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 - The government's efforts to help foreign nations cut off the supply of money to terrorists, a critical goal for the Bush administration, have been stymied by infighting among American agencies, leadership problems and insufficient financing, a new Congressional report says.

More than four years after the Sept. 11 attacks, "the U.S. government lacks an integrated strategy" to train foreign countries and provide them with technical assistance to shore up their financial and law enforcement systems against terrorist financing, according to the report prepared by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress.

The findings expand on earlier concerns raised by that agency and others in the past few years about the government's ability to cut off money to terrorists. The report is to be released Wednesday, and an advance copy was provided to The New York Times.

The findings produced sharp dissent from American government officials, who said Congressional auditors overstated the bureaucratic problems in curbing terrorist financing overseas and the level of dissension between agencies. They described the intergovernmental effort to cut off the flow of terrorist money as one of the hallmarks of the Bush administration's campaign to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"No interagency process is without flaws," the State Department said in its official response. But it said "there is much evidence" that the working group set up by the administration to combat terrorist financing "is one of the most successful examples of interagency cooperation."

The government has identified 26 "priority" countries that it considered particularly vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist financiers, who may take advantage of lax financial controls and loosely regulated or nonexistent laws to launder money in support of terrorist attacks, officials said.

But officials at the State and Treasury Departments cannot even agree on who is supposed to be in charge of the effort to shore up defenses in vulnerable countries, the accountability office report concluded.

In at least one case, the State Department refused to allow a Treasury official to enter an unidentified foreign country last year to help with strategies to fight terrorist financing because of turf battles, investigators found. Because the country had recently been upgraded to a priority, State Department officials wanted to do their own assessment first before allowing the Treasury Department to conduct its work, causing a delay of several months.

Investigators found clear tensions between officials at State, Treasury, Justice and other departments.

One unidentified Treasury official quoted anonymously in the report said that the intergovernmental process for deterring terrorist financing abroad is "broken" and that the State Department "creates obstacles rather than coordinates effort." A State Department official countered that the real problem lies in the Treasury Department's reluctance to accept the State Department's leadership in the process.

In another problem area, private contractors used by the Treasury Department and other agencies have been allowed to draft proposed laws in foreign countries for curbing terrorist financing, even though Justice Department officials voiced strong concerns that contractors should not be allowed to play such an active role in the legislative process.

The contractors' work at times produced legislative proposals that had "substantial deficiencies," the report said.

The administration has made cutting off money to terrorists one of the main prongs in its attack against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. It has seized tens of millions of dollars in American accounts and assets linked to terrorist groups, prodded other countries to do the same, and is now developing a program to gain access to and track potentially hundreds of millions of international bank transfers into the United States.

But experts in the field say the results have been spotty, with few clear dents in Al Qaeda's ability to move money and finance terrorist attacks. The Congressional report- a follow-up to a 2003 report that offered a similarly bleak assessment - buttresses those concerns.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who leads the Senate Finance Committee and was one of the lawmakers who requested the study, said he was disappointed to learn that in an area as critical as countering terrorist financing, "they haven't gotten very far yet."

In an interview, Mr. Grassley said: "It's as simple as learning to stop the infighting and turf protection and get on with the job. What's happening is just inexplicable in light of the war on terrorism."

The State Department said in the report that it has begun technical assistance and training to 20 of the 26 priority countries. The list is classified, and the countries were not disclosed. Officials say that letting terrorists know which countries are considered vulnerable would prompt them to move more money there and that publicizing such assessments would discourage cooperation from the countries on the list.

As part of their review, Congressional investigators conducted field work in Pakistan, Indonesia and Paraguay to assess American efforts to deter terrorist financing. But officials would not say whether those countries were on the government's classified list of 26 "vulnerable" nations.

Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been the focus of intense scrutiny and diplomatic efforts since Sept. 11 because of concerns that charities, state-sponsored organizations and informal money-exchange systems known as hawalas are routinely used to funnel large amounts of money to Al Qaeda.


Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/29/national/nationalspecial3/29terror.html?

[Petronas]

INDONESIA: AL-QAEDA FUNDED TERROR ATTACKS SAY POLICE
Mar-03-2006 05:49 pm

Jakarta, 1 March (AKI/Jakarta Post) - Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda financed the major terror attacks in Indonesia over the past four years, a senior National Police detective has stated. Sr. Comr. Petrus Reinhard Golose said the global terror group sent money to its operatives in the world's largest Muslim country to carry out a series of attacks, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing and the 2004 Australia Embassy blast. The bombings, which were all blamed on the regional Jamaah Islamiyah terror network, killed a total of 244 people of more than 20 nationalities.

Petrus, formerly a senior member of police anti-terror squad Detachment 88 and the current head of the police cybercrime unit, was speaking at a two-day international conference on terrorism that ended Tuesday. He said the money had been delivered through couriers sent by an al-Qaeda leader. "They sent it through their channels from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed via Thailand and Malaysia before finally reaching here (Indonesia)," Petrus told the media after the conference. He declined to specify from which country the funds originated and who received them in Indonesia.

Mohammed, an alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and handed over to US authorities. He is believed to be al-Qaeda's third in command.

Petrus said funds of up to 30,000 dollars were first delivered for the 2002 Bali blasts, and that al-Qaeda also sent tens of thousands of dollars to finance the JW Marriott bombing and the Australian Embassy attack. Leftover funds from the JW Marriott bombing, reportedly controlled by late terror mastermind Azahari bin Husin, along with a third delivery of an unspecified amount of money from al-Qaeda was used to finance the second Bali attack, Petrus said.

"The funds for the second Bali explosions were also collected from donations and fai operations," he added, the latter an Arabic word referring to the robbing of enemies of Islam to secure funds for defending the faith. Petrus added that remaining funds from the second Bali bombings were sent to the southern Philippines, where Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) trained its followers.

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto told a hearing with lawmakers early last month that in February 2002, Malaysian terror fugitive Noordin M. Top received 86,000 from al-Qaeda. Noordin also received 130,000 dollars in May 2003 from Palestinians to carry out attacks in Indonesia, Sutanto added without elaborating.

Petrus, who was a key police officer involved in the antiterror raid that killed Azahari near Malang, East Java, last year, said the Noordin-led group Tandzim Qoedatul Jihad had changed its structure amid the intensive hunt for its followers. "People say that if we catch Noordin, terrorism in Indonesia would be finished. No, it's still dangerous, because terrorists have changed the frame of their organisation," he added.

Petrus said that based on a letter signed by Noordin, which was found in a raid on his suspected hideout in Semarang, Central Java, his next operations were still targeting foreigners, especially Australians, Americans and their allies, with cafes, hotels and discotheques prime sites for attack. Apart from Noordin, he said the police were also searching for Abu Dujana, who is believed to be the new JI leader and was accused of helping hide terror suspects who allegedly planned attacks on US interests in Singapore

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.270927348&par=0

[Petronas]

NYC'S TERROR BANK
April 3, 2006

WASHINGTON - Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has shut down a massive terror-finance pipeline in which a whopping $3 billion in profits from drug deals and other crimes flowed through a major New York bank to Middle East fanatics, The Post has learned. Morgenthau told The Post his office is pursuing a settlement involving possible penalties against one of the largest and most prominent banks in New York - which he declined to identify - for maintaining an account where funds that originated in South America's notorious "tri-border region" were rerouted to suspect accounts in the Middle East.

Evidence developed in the course of a three-year probe, which has already resulted in charges against other New York-based financial institutions, revealed that about $3 billion that flowed through the account over a two-year period was going to terror groups Hamas, al Qaeda and Hezbollah, Morgenthau said. "I can't go out and arrest Osama bin Laden. But I can try to cut off his money," Morgenthau said of his massive probe.

Morgenthau's new case is the latest shocking disclosure of how terrorist groups, rogue states and drug lords are exploiting continuing weaknesses in the American financial system - and how billions of dollars in dirty money continues to flow through unsuspecting banks in New York, the epicenter of the global dollar trade.

John Moscow, a former Assistant District Attorney for financial crimes under Morgenthau, told the House International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations last week that there are hundreds of thousands of shady banks around the world that "are taking deposits from people they never met and from brass-plate companies with no assets except the bank account, and are inserting the money into the world monetary system." "Most of this is in dollars, and most of it goes through Manhattan," Moscow testified. Morgenthau would not name the latest New York bank under the gun, but said the case could be concluded - with possible penalties - "any day now."

He said most of the $3 billion in suspicious funds were generated, through criminal enterprises, in the lawless tri-border region of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Over a two-year period, the $3 billion was sent to the New York bank account by a shadowy money-transmittal company in Montevideo, Uruguay. The money then flowed into bank accounts in the Middle East locations including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Beirut, Lebanon, and Ramallah in the Palestinian territories.

The probe of the New York bank grew out of the Manhattan DA's previous 2004 prosecution of the Beacon Hill Services Corp., an Upper East Side money transmitter that moved more than $9 billion in suspect funds through accounts in Chase Manhattan Bank and other institutions.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/61931.htm

[al-Canine]

Congressmen Grill Swiss Bankers Over Ties to Bin Laden, Iran, Cuba

BY MEGHAN CLYNE - Staff Reporter of the Sun

WASHINGTON - The Swiss banking giant, UBS, may have helped Iran develop its nuclear program, may have held an account for Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden, and could find itself investigated as part of Congress's ongoing inquiry into the United Nations oil-for-food scandal, lawmakers said yesterday.

During an intense grilling on Capitol Hill, the bank was also accused of engaging in a pattern of resistance to congressional inquiries, as lawmakers cited years of non-cooperation with congressional probes into improper transactions between the bank and terrorist regimes.

One lawmaker disclosed that UBS had provided a witness for yesterday's hearing only under threats of subpoena, and another accused the bank's representative at the hearing of using "weasel words" to dodge tough questions.

Yesterday's hearing of the House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California, was a long-awaited public examination of UBS's alleged money laundering for state sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba and Iran.

It is the latest in a series of inquiries spawned in 2003 when American soldiers liberating Iraq discovered $762 million in American currency stashed in hideouts belonging to Saddam Hussein. The serial numbers on the banknotes were traced to UBS, which distributed the currency as part of the Extended Custodial Inventory Program run by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Federal Reserve program, in cooperation with international banks, allowed clients to exchange old American banknotes for new ones. One condition of the program was that the international banks were not allowed to accept cash from countries against which America maintains sanctions. They also were not allowed to transfer cash to such countries.

When American investigators probed the $762 million that emerged in Iraq, they found that UBS had also provided $3.9 billion in American currency for Fidel Castro's Cuba, $1 billion for Iran, and $30 million for Libya. Cuba, Iran, and Libya appear on the State Department's official list of state sponsors of terrorism.

As a result of an investigation by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in cooperation with the Department of the Treasury, UBS was censured by the Swiss Banking Commission, and paid a $100 million fine to the Federal Reserve in spring 2004.

As The New York Sun reported in October, UBS, which operates under the secrecy of Swiss banking laws, had long frustrated members of Congress seeking further information about the nature of the improper transactions; whether they included money laundering for terrorist regimes, whether the abuse of the Federal Reserve program helped fund terrorism, and whether the bank had closed all of its accounts with Cuba and Iran.

At yesterday's hearing, the witness provided by UBS, managing director Michael Herde, offered few specifics in response to lawmakers' inquiries, at times appearing to provoke interrogators already seemingly irked by the Swiss bank.

Mr. Rohrabacher likened UBS's current silence to its well-publicized and documented abuses regarding accounts of Holocaust victims, adding that the Swiss bank's "current malfeasance" included "the fact that UBS once held an account for Osama bin Laden."

In 2004, a half-brother of Mr. bin Laden, Yeslam Binladin, testified in a French courtroom that two of his brothers had set up an account at the Swiss bank, and that his terrorist sibling was one of the principal beneficiaries on the account, according to press reports. Mr. Binladin's testimony was confirmed in 2004 by a UBS spokesman, who said that Mr. Bin Laden was not a bank customer but could draw money from it.

During yesterday's hearing, however, when pressed by Mr. Rohrabacher about whether Mr. Bin Laden had an account at the bank, Mr. Herde testified: "I don't believe so."

Mr. Herde did disclose that UBS decided in November, after years of congressional inquiries, to end its business in countries against which America maintains sanctions. He added that the bank was in the middle of closing down its accounts in Iran and Cuba, a process a spokeswoman, Christine Walton, later said would be "around 80%" complete at the end of April.

Mr. Herde also disclosed that "8 to 11" low-level employees had been terminated as a result of the scandal involving the Federal Reserve program, and said that to the best of his knowledge, no one involved in the improper transfers, including higher ups with potential knowledge of the illicit activity, was still employed by the bank.

"'To the best of my knowledge' indicates to me that there is probably somebody very high up in the bank who knows everything and is still there," Mr. Rohrabacher replied.

Grilled by Mr. Rohrabacher and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen about the employees' motives for engaging in the activity, Mr. Herde said the bank's investigation showed that the employees abused the Federal Reserve program because of a "misguided perception that operational efficiencies would be enhanced."

"That does sound like very suspicious language," Mr. Rohrabacher said. "Being a former journalist, I hear weasel words of how to get around things," the congressman added later about the UBS representative's testimony. Ms. Walton said after the hearing that Mr. Herde had been referring to efforts by UBS employees to streamline the exchange of American banknotes by not setting up a separate program for the Federal Reserve cash, as the program's terms required.

Earlier in the hearing, Mr. Rohrabacher said that the bank's transactions with Iran "may have put the whole world in danger," saying that the regime's nuclear ambitions pose "a grave threat that might be traced right back to a major financial institution in the world dealing with the Iranian government."

The bank may also have helped fund oppression and warmongering in Iraq, according to Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.

"Reports have stated that Saddam Hussein, even when Iraq was under U.N. sanctions, had accounts at UBS," Ms. Ros-Lehtinen said. "That has implications for this subcommittee's Oil-for-Food investigation." Committee staff said the UBS connection is of concern because of Saddam's use of the international financial apparatus to perpetrate the Oil-for-Food fraud.

After the hearing, Ms. Walton said that UBS had cooperated fully with the committee's inquiries.

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=30062

[candypreet]

fantastic thread

[al-Canine]

Here is the NY Times' controversial article, in its entirety.

June 23, 2006

Bank Data Is Sifted by U.S. in Secret to Block Terror

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON, June 22 — Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

The program is limited, government officials say, to tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry, a Belgian cooperative that routes about $6 trillion daily between banks, brokerages, stock exchanges and other institutions. The records mostly involve wire transfers and other methods of moving money overseas and into and out of the United States. Most routine financial transactions confined to this country are not in the database.

Viewed by the Bush administration as a vital tool, the program has played a hidden role in domestic and foreign terrorism investigations since 2001 and helped in the capture of the most wanted Qaeda figure in Southeast Asia, the officials said.

The program, run out of the Central Intelligence Agency and overseen by the Treasury Department, "has provided us with a unique and powerful window into the operations of terrorist networks and is, without doubt, a legal and proper use of our authorities," Stuart Levey, an under secretary at the Treasury Department, said in an interview on Thursday.

The program is grounded in part on the president's emergency economic powers, Mr. Levey said, and multiple safeguards have been imposed to protect against any unwarranted searches of Americans' records.

The program, however, is a significant departure from typical practice in how the government acquires Americans' financial records. Treasury officials did not seek individual court-approved warrants or subpoenas to examine specific transactions, instead relying on broad administrative subpoenas for millions of records from the cooperative, known as Swift.

That access to large amounts of confidential data was highly unusual, several officials said, and stirred concerns inside the administration about legal and privacy issues.

"The capability here is awesome or, depending on where you're sitting, troubling," said one former senior counterterrorism official who considers the program valuable. While tight controls are in place, the official added, "the potential for abuse is enormous."

The program is separate from the National Security Agency's efforts to eavesdrop without warrants and collect domestic phone records, operations that have provoked fierce public debate and spurred lawsuits against the government and telecommunications companies.

But all the programs grew out of the Bush administration's desire to exploit technological tools to prevent another terrorist strike, and all reflect attempts to break down longstanding legal or institutional barriers to the government's access to private information about Americans and others inside the United States.

Officials described the Swift program as the biggest and most far-reaching of several secret efforts to trace terrorist financing. Much more limited agreements with other companies have provided access to A.T.M. transactions, credit card purchases and Western Union wire payments, the officials said.

Nearly 20 current and former government officials and industry executives discussed aspects of the Swift operation with The New York Times on condition of anonymity because the program remains classified. Some of those officials expressed reservations about the program, saying that what they viewed as an urgent, temporary measure had become permanent nearly five years later without specific Congressional approval or formal authorization.

Data from the Brussels-based banking consortium, formally known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has allowed officials from the C.I.A., the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to examine "tens of thousands" of financial transactions, Mr. Levey said.

While many of those transactions have occurred entirely on foreign soil, officials have also been keenly interested in international transfers of money by individuals, businesses, charities and other groups under suspicion inside the United States, officials said. A small fraction of Swift's records involve transactions entirely within this country, but Treasury officials said they were uncertain whether any had been examined.

Swift executives have been uneasy at times about their secret role, the government and industry officials said. By 2003, the executives told American officials they were considering pulling out of the arrangement, which began as an emergency response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the officials said. Worried about potential legal liability, the Swift executives agreed to continue providing the data only after top officials, including Alan Greenspan, then chairman of the Federal Reserve, intervened. At that time, new controls were introduced.

Among the safeguards, government officials said, is an outside auditing firm that verifies that the data searches are based on intelligence leads about suspected terrorists. "We are not on a fishing expedition," Mr. Levey said. "We're not just turning on a vacuum cleaner and sucking in all the information that we can."

Swift and Treasury officials said they were aware of no abuses. But Mr. Levey, the Treasury official, said one person had been removed from the operation for conducting a search considered inappropriate.

Treasury officials said Swift was exempt from American laws restricting government access to private financial records because the cooperative was considered a messaging service, not a bank or financial institution.

But at the outset of the operation, Treasury and Justice Department lawyers debated whether the program had to comply with such laws before concluding that it did not, people with knowledge of the debate said. Several outside banking experts, however, say that financial privacy laws are murky and sometimes contradictory and that the program raises difficult legal and public policy questions.

The Bush administration has made no secret of its campaign to disrupt terrorist financing, and President Bush, Treasury officials and others have spoken publicly about those efforts. Administration officials, however, asked The New York Times not to publish this article, saying that disclosure of the Swift program could jeopardize its effectiveness. They also enlisted several current and former officials, both Democrat and Republ