All, I ran across this study which I think is worthy of bookmarking for several reasons: "INFORMAL VALUE TRANSFER SYSTEMS, TERRORISM AND MONEY LAUNDERING" www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/208301.pdf It comes from the National Institute of Justice by way of The National Criminal Justice Reference Service, funded by a DOJ grant, eventually becoming a joint project of the Treasury and Justice departments. It references "The Non-Traditional Methodologies Section" a newly created part of FINCEN. There are hints that this may have been involved in 'recent events'. Though the main focus is on Hawala and related channels, there is some treatement of emerging "high tech Internet payment services", likely a reference to us, though DGCs are not ecplicitly mentioned (the study was commissioned in 2002 and distributed, though never published, in 2003). One of the most interesting aspects is that it is a veritable textbook of ways to transfer value internationally outside of the regulated banking system. You could teach a course from it. It's remarkably even handed. Points out that criminals and terrorists actually make much more use of regulated channels, that informal channels have their legitimate uses, that zealous opposition to them only forces them further underground and makes criminals of ordinary people, that such prosecution is a waste of political capital and law enforcement resources, that it can create more enemies that it is worth, and so on. I think this merits study especially because I believe the roots of the current anti-DGC actions are in the organizations and policies referenced here and we should study the opposition at least as carefully as they are studying us. cheers, wavyhill --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> 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'