[Clips] American Executive in Brussels Aided Terrorist-Tracking Program

[R.A. Hettinga]

--- begin forwarded text


  Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:35:54 -0400
  To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: [Clips] American Executive in Brussels Aided Terrorist-Tracking
  	Program
  Reply-To: clips-chat at philodox.com
  Sender: clips-bounces at philodox.com

  <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.

  --
  -----------------
  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at 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'
  _______________________________________________
  Clips mailing list
  Clips at philodox.com
  http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips

--- end forwarded text


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at 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'