29 August 2002
Treasury Plays Down UN Draft Report on Terrorist Finance
(Says UN lacks complete information about fight's success)(860)
The U.S. Treasury Department has played down a United Nations draft
report about continued al-Qaida access to finance, calling the
information in the draft incomplete.
In an August 29 statement, the department said international
cooperation against terrorism finance has accomplished much more than
the UN draft describes. It said al-Qaida and other terrorist
organizations are suffering financially as a result of the actions,
which it said have also made potential donors more cautious.
At issue is an August 29 Washington Post article about the draft from
the UN Sanctions Committee, which reportedly says that al-Qaida
continues to get money from Osama bin Laden's personal wealth as well
as from investments and charitable donations.
The Treasury statement also warned against focusing only on financial
sanctions.
"The point isn't grabbing dollars in bank accounts when freezing
orders go into place -- it is destroying the financial infrastructure
of terrorism," Treasury said. "That means seizing money, but it also
means dismantling the channels of funding, deterring those who would
give aid and support to terrorists, and following the leads to
terrorist cells."
Following is the text of the Treasury statement:
(begin text)
The Treasury Department
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, DC
August 29, 2002
Treasury Statement on UN Terrorism Report
Since September 11th, the United States has been working very closely
with the international community and the United Nations (UN) 1390
Sanctions Committee on targeted financial sanctions to freeze the
assets of terrorists and their networks.
The United Nations and the Committee have taken this fight seriously,
and it is again encouraging to see the UN focus on the threat al-Qaida
poses to the international community of civilized nations. We agree
with this sense of urgency and call on all countries, as we have done
consistently since 9/11, to take preventative, proactive steps to
attack the financial network of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
That being said, the monitoring report from the 1390 Committee is
limited in scope because it bases its analysis in large part on the
reports submitted by countries pursuant to UNSCR 1373 and on research
done by members of that committee. These reports and the committee's
research, though very important, do not provide a complete picture of
the success of our overall campaign to date. The report cited by the
Washington Post today does not focus on other elements of the campaign
against terrorist financing. As a result, it is an incomplete picture
of the financial war against terrorism.
International cooperation has been strong and consistent. Since
September 11th, the United States and other countries have frozen more
than $112 million in terrorist-related assets. As a result of our
efforts -- including today's action adding 25 additional individuals
and entities to the list -- 234 individuals and entities are currently
designated as financiers of terror and their access to the
international financial system is blocked. We have a strong history of
international cooperation in freezing terrorist-related assets. Over
160 countries have blocking orders in force, hundreds of accounts
worth more than $70 million have been blocked abroad, and foreign law
enforcement have acted swiftly to shut down terrorist financing
networks and arrest financiers.
Shutting down al-Qaida finances is not just about sanctions. We are
pleased with the success of the terrorist financing efforts, but
dollars seized is the narrowest measure of success. The point isn't
grabbing dollars in bank accounts when freezing orders go into place
-- it is destroying the financial infrastructure of terrorism. That
means seizing money, but it also means dismantling the channels of
funding, deterring those who would give aid and support to terrorists,
and following the leads to terrorist cells. For example, the German
government just yesterday charged a money handler for the 9/11 plots,
and the U.S. government this week announced the indictment of 6
individuals suspected of conspiring to provide material support to
terrorists. In addition, Operation Green Quest -- a Treasury-led
inner-agency task force -- has seized over $16 million in bulk cash
being smuggled.
Our top priority is to prevent terrorist attacks by disrupting
terrorist finances. We are committed to exposing, isolating and
incapacitating the financial infrastructure of terrorist organizations
worldwide. The President has made clear that this is a long, difficult
struggle. The effort to shut down financial support is very difficult.
We have made much progress, and much remains to be done.
We are confident that our efforts are having real-world effects.
Al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations are suffering financially
as a result of our actions. We also believe that potential donors are
being more cautious about giving money to organizations where they
fear that the money might wind up in the hands of terrorists. In
addition, greater regulatory scrutiny in financial systems around the
world is further marginalizing those who would support terrorist
groups and activities.
Admittedly, there is much more work to do, and we must do so with
urgency. Since 9/11, the U.S. government and the world have been
identifying gaps in our efforts and have been working diligently to
deal with these issues, like the abuse of charities and hawalas. Our
campaign against terrorist financing is a long-term and complex
endeavor that requires concrete actions from the international
community. The fight against al-Qaida and terrorism demands this type
of commitment.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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