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Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:20:16 -0500
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From: "R. A. Hettinga"
Subject: [Clips] Irish have little defence against terror fundraisers
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http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=184&si=1590619&issue_id=13867&printer=1
Irish Independent
Irish have little defence against terror fundraisers
Saturday April 1st 2006
Tom
Lyons
IRELAND has major gaps in its ability to stamp out the financing of
domestic and international terrorism.
An international body had found that Ireland fails or only partly meets
seven out of nine special UN resolutions to fight the financing of
terrorism and crime.
Monitoring of charities, auctioneers, lawyers, wire transfers and trusts
are among the areas which need to be tightened up.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concludes that although Ireland is
carrying out a review of the charity sector, it has "not yet implemented
measures to ensure accountability and transparency" to prevent terrorists
posing as legitimate non-profit organisations.
This is in spite of the fact that over three years ago an Islamic charity
based in Dublin was accused in a US court of having channelled money to
supporters of Osama Bin Laden.
And the FATF, which was founded in 1989, finds Ireland has only "limited
ability" to freeze funds of terrorists who have yet to be designated as
such by the EU.
Resolution
This is in breach of a UN resolution adopted just two weeks after the
September 11 attacks.
The FATF also concludes that non-financial businesses or professions (such
as real estate agents, casino bosses, diamond dealers or lawyers) are "not
adequately monitored for compliance".
Its evaluation team found that the lack of anti-money laundering or
terrorist financing requirements for trust and company services providers
as well as of private gaming clubs operating as casinos was "a matter of
concern".
It also finds that Ireland is "non-compliant" in terms of another UN
resolution governing wire transfers.
It finds that the requirement to record and keep the names of people
transferring money abroad is "limited and currently only contained in
guidance". And there is "no obligation" to verify that the identities of
people transferring money is "accurate and meaningful".
The report also finds a legal loophole exists that prevents the Terrorist
Finance offence being applied to the collection of money to fund groups of
less than three terrorists - except when the funds are actually used to
carry out a terrorist act.
And it states that Ireland has "no powers" to obtain a truthful disclosure
upon request from individuals suspected of bringing cash or bearer notes
across borders.
"No sanctions are available for false declarations" in such cases, it says.
The FATF also warns that Ireland has no explicit requirement to watch all
unusual, complex, or large transactions with no visible economic purpose.
Furthermore, it criticises Ireland's trust laws which make it "difficult to
obtain and verify in a timely fashion" the beneficial owners of property or
other assets.
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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'