--- begin forwarded text To: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft@community-research.com> Thread-Index: AcTXnb2VTpnLxWr1TYWTH/A76UVXkw== From: "Bruce Tefft" <btefft@community-research.com> Mailing-List: list osint@yahoogroups.com; contact osint-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list osint@yahoogroups.com Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 08:00:49 -0500 Subject: [osint] Arabs launch money laundering, terror financing watchdog Reply-To: osint@yahoogroups.com http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-12-2004_pg4_1 Arabs launch money laundering, terror financing watchdog * US hails Middle East-North Africa Financial Action Task Force MANAMA: Arab states agreed on Tuesday to work together to try to keep money out of the hands of terrorists. Tuesday's creation of the 14-member Middle East-North Africa Financial Action Task Force was hailed by the US Treasury Department official responsible for fighting terrorist financing, Juan Carlos Zarate, who attended the inaugural meeting in Bahrain. The task force was "a testament to the fact that Gulf countries and countries in the region have taken very seriously ... the threat of terrorist financing," Zarate told reporters. "I think we need to do more. There are still those who are providing support to Al Qaeda and to like-minded terrorist groups ... who want to hide money in the international financial system." The task force is the first of its kind in the region, which has come under increased scrutiny following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States. The United Arab Emirates, which joined the new task force and is known for its freewheeling financial sector, has been identified by US investigators as a major money transfer center for Al Qaeda, the terror network responsible for Sept. 11. The Emirates has tightened reporting and other regulations since September 11. Bahrain earlier this year signed the 1999 UN international convention for the suppression of financing of terrorism. Saudi Arabia has cracked down on charities suspected of funneling money to terrorists. Emirates Central Bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi told reporters at the Bahrain meeting that now countries in the region must ensure their words are translated into action. "We need to strengthen our regulations and enforce the right laws and regulations," al-Suwaidi said. The watchdog bringing together Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Kuwait, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen will be a regional version of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. The 33-member FATF was set up in 1987 to monitor and fight money laundering, and in 2001 expanded its role to combatting the financing of terror. Iraqi officials attended the Bahrain meeting as observers, as did officials from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, United States, Britain and France. Bahraini Finance Minister Abdulla Saif said the task force showed officials in his region were serious about ensuring their banking and financial systems were transparent and could not be exploited by criminals. Bahrain was to host the task force, which was to be headed initially by a Lebanese president, an Egyptian vice president and a Saudi executive director, according to the founding documents delegates signed Tuesday. The presidency and vice-presidency will rotate annually among the member countries. ap ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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