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Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:35:54 -0400
To: Philodox Clips List
From: "R.A. Hettinga"
Subject: [Clips] American Executive in Brussels Aided Terrorist-Tracking
Program
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http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB115110975872789608.html
The Wall Street Journal
American Executive in Brussels
Aided Terrorist-Tracking Program
By GLENN R. SIMPSON
June 24, 2006
The Treasury Department's secret terrorist-tracking program depended in
part on the cooperation of Leonard "Lenny" Schrank, an American executive
who heads the Belgium-based banking cooperative known as Swift.
A gregarious technology whiz who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, the Brooklyn-born Mr. Schrank ended up working closely with
U.S. intelligence officials on the project when Swift received subpoenas
from the Treasury Department following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, people
familiar with the program said.
Mr. Schrank, who described Swift's general operations in a meeting with a
Wall Street Journal reporter last year, declined Friday to be interviewed
regarding the terrorist-tracking program. Swift stands for the Society for
Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. The firm, based in the
Brussels suburb of La Hulpe, was founded in 1973 to promote "a common
language for international financial transactions," according to the Swift
Web site.
Within the banking industry, Mr. Schrank is credited with developing the
financial-telecommunications cooperative into a vital if obscure cog in the
globalization of financial services since becoming chief executive in 1992.
An expert in information technology who has degrees in computer science and
electrical engineering, Mr. Schrank has been involved in the technology
business since founding a software company in the 1970s. At Swift, he
implemented a reliable, secure and high-capacity messaging network that has
enabled banks and brokerages to move money around the globe almost
effortlessly.
Under Mr. Schrank, a fan of the U.S. space program, Swift adopted the
Apollo mission motto, "Failure Is Not an Option." Last year, Swift brought
Apollo 13 astronaut Alan Bean to speak at its headquarters to help promote
its "culture of commitment to provide services of the highest security,
reliability and resilience," according to Swift's most recent annual report.
Mr. Schrank is one of the best-known American businessmen in Brussels,
where he also serves as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in
Belgium. He is planning to retire next year.
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R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
