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Minggu, 01 Desember 2013
Kamis, 21 November 2013
Rabu, 13 November 2013
Selasa, 05 November 2013
Jumat, 22 Juni 2012
Chinese Gang Laundering Money at Laundries
Spanish police say they arrested 34 Chinese citizens as they smashed a family-run crime gang suspected of importing fake goods and laundering the profits, with the help of a chain of laundries.
The raids in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, Seville and Huelva overnight broke up the largest Chinese-linked criminal gang based in Spain, operating since the 1990s, said the Civil Guard overnight.
Police detained 34 Chinese nationals and seized assets worth 11 million euros ($15 million), it said.
The gang may have earned more than 40 million euros ($54.64 million) a year, importing four-to-six containers a month through Valencia packed with fake tobacco, clothes and other goods bound for sale in Spain, Britain, France, Italy and Portugal, they said.
The Chinese family-run gang laundered the proceeds by moving the money around with couriers, making bank transfers of less than 20,000 ($27,318) and by extending high-interest loans to compatriots based in Spain, police said.
The gang recruited Chinese people it had helped to enter Spain, often taking away their passports after they arrived or opening bank accounts in their names to launder illicit gains, they said.
According to police, the organisation had a branch in China, which controlled more than 30 companies including a chain of nearly 1,000 laundries and was used to conceal the source of the profits.
Source: Herald Sun
Kamis, 21 Juni 2012
Germany agrees to share information about secret bank accounts Read more: Germany agrees to share information about secret bank accounts
German has assured finance minister Pranab Mukhejee that it would pass on information about Indian citizens holding secret bank accounts.
Mukherjee appreciated the role of Germany in providing information about Indian citizens having secret bank accounts in the LGT bank of Liechtenstein.
Germany has earlier provided names of some Indians having secret accounts in the Liechtenstein Bank.
"German finance minister ... assured him (Mukherjee) that as and when they have such information, they will pass it on to the Indian government", said a release.
Germany, it added, has also agreed to revise Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and incorporate clauses to facilitate exchange of information between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries.
The negotiations to amend the DTAA will start soon, the release said, adding Mukherjee has requested for early amendments to the tax treaty.
Under the existing treaty, Germany cannot share information for non tax purposes.
German tax authorities, Mukherjee added, need to share information with India's Enforcement Directorate, a body that deals with offences relating to violation of foreign exchange laws.
Raising similar issues with French minister for economy, industry and employment Christine Lagarde, Mukherjee said there was need to put pressure on tax havens to share information to prevent money laundering.
Mukherjee also recalled the commitment of the French minister to share information on Indian monies in Swiss banks, the release said.
The finance minister asked his French counterpart to initiate early negotiations for amending the DTAA between the two countries.
Lagarde said the French team was working on the amendment proposed by India on the DTAA and the issue of providing information for tax purposes would be discussed shortly with Indian administration.
The two leaders also discussed a number of bilateral and multilateral issues and underlined the need for greater engagement between the two countries in the fields of energy, nuclear power, water treatment etc.
Source: The Times of India
Terror arrests in Ireland are third highest in Europe
by Michael Freeman
There were more arrests over terrorism offences in Ireland than almost anywhere else in the EU last year, according to a new report.
Some 62 terror suspects were taken into custody in the Republic – more than ten per cent of the European total. They included 57 people suspected of republican paramilitary activity and five in relation to Islamic militancy, Europol’s EU Terrorism and Trend Report reveals. The five Islamic terrorism arrests came after an alleged plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who drew a controversial image of the prophet Muhammad, was uncovered in Ireland in March 2010.
Only Spain and France made more arrests in 2010, though the numbers there were far greater. France arrested 219 people and Spain 118, while in fourth place the UK figure was 45. Ireland’s figures were almost double the previous year, when only 33 suspects were taken into custody.The main other findings of the report were:
- There were a total of 249 terrorist attacks carried out across the EU, with 40 perpetrated by terrorist groups based in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
- The Real IRA and Continuity IRA “continue to pose a threat” in the UK, and have grown in size and capability in recent years.
- Ireland has a mostly successful record for prosecuting terrorism offences, with 83 per cent of cases resulting in conviction. However, the average jail penalty of five years is below the EU average.
- The report noted that Ireland had successfully implement an EU directive on money laundering, designed to restrict financing of terrorism.
- A total of 179 people were arrested in Europe on suspicion of Islamic terrorism. This was a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, and almost half the arrests were made over planned attacks on EU countries.
- The report warned that continued political unrest in North Africa could shake up al-Qaeda affiliates and lead to them establishing a greater presence in Europe. It also stated that most of the suspects arrested over alleged Islamic terrorism were acting alone or autonomously – meaning there is no single network or organisation which can be targeted.
Europol is the EU’s criminal intelligence agency, which works with law enforcement organisations across all member states.
Source: The Journal
Minggu, 17 Juni 2012
France Investigating Money Laundering Linked To Ben Ali, Mubarak
By Joe Palazzolo
Public prosecutors in Paris are investigating suspected organized money-laundering linked to Tunisia’s ousted president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, AFP reported.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told the news agency it opened the probes on Tuesday. The move followed a request by non-governmental organizations Sherpa and Transparency International-France earlier this month for a preliminary investigation of assets linked to Ben Ali and his clan.
France has been searching for assets belonging to Ben Ali since he fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia in mid-January amid protests. The U.S. is also looking for assets in its jurisdiction belonging to Mubarak, Ben Ali and their associates.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Public prosecutors in Paris are investigating suspected organized money-laundering linked to Tunisia’s ousted president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, AFP reported.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told the news agency it opened the probes on Tuesday. The move followed a request by non-governmental organizations Sherpa and Transparency International-France earlier this month for a preliminary investigation of assets linked to Ben Ali and his clan.
France has been searching for assets belonging to Ben Ali since he fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia in mid-January amid protests. The U.S. is also looking for assets in its jurisdiction belonging to Mubarak, Ben Ali and their associates.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Senin, 11 Juni 2012
The New UN Sanctions Resolution Against Iran
The UN Security Council approved a resolution on June 9th imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in response to its continued nuclear enrichment program in violation of prior Security Council resolutions. The vote was 12 in favor, 2 against (Brazil and Turkey) and 1 abstention (Lebanon).
The new resolution imposes new financial restrictions on Iran, expands an existing arms embargo, and authorizes greater stop and search of Iranian cargo ships. Targeted sanctions on specific individuals and entities were expanded. The resolution also includes measures directed against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
While the United States, Great Britain and France were its strongest sponsors, China and Russia also expressed their verbal support along with their votes, although the Russian ambassador added a major caveat in his response to a reporter’s question about Russia’s prospective sale of a sophisticated anti-aircraft system to Iran.
Lebanon’s decision to abstain was a pleasant surprise, considering the influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah in the Lebanese government. However, Brazil and Turkey as expected opposed the new resolution on the grounds that it could undermine the proposed nuclear fuel swap agreed by the two countries with Iran last month. They seemed to forget that the European Union has been trying to negotiate with Iran since 2005 and the Obama administration waited 18 months while trying to engage Iran before seeking passage of this resolution. Only when new sanctions became a real possibility did Iran come around to the fuel swap concept that it had first agreed upon and then promptly reneged on last fall.
Rice’s Positive Spin
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after the vote that the “resolution is strong, it’s tough and it’s comprehensive. And it is something that Iran fought very hard to prevent passage today. The effort, the time, the money, and the poise that they employed, to try to prevent this resolution’s passage only underscores their understanding, that this is a major blow.”
Despite the ineffectiveness of the three prior resolutions, Ambassador Rice expressed confidence that the cumulative effect on Iran of all the resolutions is “harmful and hurtful.”
Iran’s Rebuke
Iran remains unbowed. Its representative told the Security Council after the vote that it had no intention of changing its present course. He accused the United States and Great Britain in particular of continuing a long pattern of interference in Iran’s affairs and displaying a double standard vis a vis Israel. Ambassador Rice told reporters that these comments were “reprehensible, offensive, and inaccurate.”
Stronger Resolution on Paper
On paper at least, the new resolution does appear to represent a significant move forward from the prior three. More specifically, the resolution prohibits Iran from investing in sensitive nuclear activities abroad, like uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, as well as activities involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The ban also applies to investment in uranium mining.
States are prohibited from selling or in any way transferring to Iran various categories of heavy weapons (battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and certain missiles or missile systems). States are similarly prohibited from providing technical or financial assistance for such systems, or spare parts.
The resolution also sets up a new cargo inspection framework. States are expected to inspect any vessel on their territory suspected of carrying prohibited cargo, including banned conventional arms or sensitive nuclear or missile items. States are also expected to cooperate in such inspections on the high seas.
States are called upon to prevent any financial service and freeze any asset that could contribute to Iran’s proliferation.
Resolution targets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Most significantly, the resolution targets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for its role in proliferation and requires states to mandate that businesses exercise vigilance over all transactions involving the IRGC. Fifteen IRGC-related companies linked to proliferation will have their assets frozen. The IRGC is the major power center in Iran’s economic and military spheres as well as one of the government’s primary instruments for suppressing political dissent. Impairing the IRGC’s freedom of operations will be a significant accomplishment, if successful.
The Proof Will be in Enforcement
UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iraq, North Korea and Iran have had a bad track record in actual practice. The resolutions have been easy for the sanctioned countries to evade, through the use of multiple front entities, money laundering and trading partners unwilling to give up short term advantage for longer term peace and security.
Also, enforcement of the cargo inspection at sea will be a challenge if Iran, as expected, refuses to cooperate. When the French UN ambassador, for example, was asked what measures France would be willing to take in such a scenario, he refused to answer what he called a “hypothetical question.”
Most ominously, the Russian UN ambassador told reporters that Russia did not consider the sale of its sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft system to Iran to be within the resolution’s scope. The S-300 missile defense system would no doubt be used by Iran to shield its nuclear sites against a potential air strike, should military force become necessary to stop Iran from producing nuclear bombs. The Russian ambassador is technically correct because the resolution’s ban on the transfer to Iran of certain missile systems is written in such a way that it creates a big loophole for Russia to walk through in delivering to Iran its ground-to-air missiles, including its S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and anti-missile interceptors.
The Obama administration will spin the latest sanctions resolution against Iran as a major diplomatic triumph and a significant obstacle in the way of Iran’s progress towards achieving a nuclear arms capability. I hope they are right. However, until the S-300 loophole is closed; until the U.S. and its allies figure out a way to effectively stop evasions of the sanctions; and until enough countries show that they are willing to enforce the cargo inspections, the Obama administration might want to wait before it celebrates.
Source: Canada Free Press
Senin, 04 Juni 2012
Dead Men on UN Terror List Hinder Global Fight Against Al-Qaeda
Ahmad Zerfaoui is one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, according to the United Nations, which lists him as a member of al-Qaeda’s North African arm. It may be difficult to bring him to justice: He died three years ago. At least 42 dead people and as many as 69 defunct companies are among about 500 names on the UN’s list of alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters, said Richard Barrett, who heads the world body’s committee monitoring sanctions on the groups and is working to clean up the register.
UN member states are reluctant to apply sanctions on the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their supporters because governments don’t know who on the list is a legitimate threat, Barrett said. The inaccuracies also hamper Obama administration efforts to motivate allies in the war on terrorism who don’t want to be seen as too close to the U.S., said Eric Rosand, a security analyst in New York.
“We turn to the UN for its global legitimacy, but if the UN tool is seen as illegitimate, you limit your effectiveness,” said Rosand, co-director of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, an independent research group. “The UN has a lot of cachet where the U.S. is not appreciated.”
The list grew out of UN sanctions levied against the Taliban in 1999 after the Afghan Islamists refused to give up al-Qaeda operatives following the bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.
Assets and Travel
The sanctions, which require nations to freeze assets of those listed and bar them from travel and weapons transactions, were extended to al-Qaeda in 2000 and strengthened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“It was all a bit frantic after 9-11” and some names were added to the list that don’t belong, said Barrett.
All 15 Security Council nations must agree to add or remove any person or company from the register.
“There are dead people on the list and the committee can’t get them off,” Rosand said.
Groups on the list include Egyptian Islamic Jihad; branches of Saudi Arabia-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which the UN called a main source of funds for al-Qaeda; and two honey shops and a bakery in Yemen whose owner was accused by the UN of being an al-Qaeda financier.
Thomas H. Nelson, an attorney for al-Haramain’s now- shuttered U.S. branch, called the terrorism accusation “ridiculous” in a phone interview from Welches, Oregon.
Barrett has removed 12 entities from the list this year. Some defunct companies are kept on to ensure they don’t revive, he said.
Death in Mali
Zerfaoui, who died in Mali in 2006, according to the UN, remains on the list because his name hasn’t come up for review.
“The problem with ‘dead’ people is proving that they are dead, particularly if they have died in ungoverned areas or countries where identities are uncertain and burials take place as soon as possible after death,” Barrett said in an e-mail.
Barrett, 60, a former officer of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, heads eight senior officials and about a dozen support staff from countries including Russia, France and the U.S., working from a midtown Manhattan office.
Many of Barrett’s security, intelligence and financial contacts are in countries that shy away from open cooperation with the U.S.
“This is a good way for the U.S. to get its agenda applied under a neutral flag,” said Barrett.
‘Significant Success’
Even with its flaws, the list helps the U.S. stifle al- Qaeda and the Taliban, said David S. Cohen, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing.
“We’ve had some significant success in degrading the financial facilitation networks by which al-Qaeda has been obtaining their funds,” he said in an interview.
Barrett said intelligence reports show al-Qaeda and the Taliban made several appeals for cash this year, a signal they are hurting from the sanctions. He said he didn’t have data from member states to show conclusively how much money has been seized under the sanctions.
Critics of the program including Jean-Charles Brisard, a former head of corporate intelligence at Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA, said the UN hasn’t kept up with terrorists’ financing methods. Since 2003, the amount of assets frozen and the number of names on the list has remained at about $80 million and 500 people, said Brisard, now a consultant for families of Sept. 11 victims.
“That’s quite ridiculous,” he said from Paris.
Legal Challenges
Countries have also been reluctant to enforce the sanctions out of concern the list won’t stand up to legal challenges, said Brisard and Barrett.
A Saudi businessman, Yassin Abdullah Kadi, also known as Yasin al-Qadi, who is on the list for allegedly supplying arms and funds to al-Qaeda and had his assets frozen, appealed to the European Court of Justice. The court ruled last year that the European Union regulations enforcing the UN sanctions denied his rights, including the right to judicial review. The asset freeze, the court said, was “an unjustified restriction” on property rights.
The council is discussing new rules on the listing and appeals process.
“For the sanctions to be efficient,” Barrett said, “they have to be respected.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter S. Green in New York at psgreen@bloomberg.net.
Source: Bloomberg
UN member states are reluctant to apply sanctions on the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their supporters because governments don’t know who on the list is a legitimate threat, Barrett said. The inaccuracies also hamper Obama administration efforts to motivate allies in the war on terrorism who don’t want to be seen as too close to the U.S., said Eric Rosand, a security analyst in New York.
“We turn to the UN for its global legitimacy, but if the UN tool is seen as illegitimate, you limit your effectiveness,” said Rosand, co-director of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, an independent research group. “The UN has a lot of cachet where the U.S. is not appreciated.”
The list grew out of UN sanctions levied against the Taliban in 1999 after the Afghan Islamists refused to give up al-Qaeda operatives following the bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.
Assets and Travel
The sanctions, which require nations to freeze assets of those listed and bar them from travel and weapons transactions, were extended to al-Qaeda in 2000 and strengthened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“It was all a bit frantic after 9-11” and some names were added to the list that don’t belong, said Barrett.
All 15 Security Council nations must agree to add or remove any person or company from the register.
“There are dead people on the list and the committee can’t get them off,” Rosand said.
Groups on the list include Egyptian Islamic Jihad; branches of Saudi Arabia-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which the UN called a main source of funds for al-Qaeda; and two honey shops and a bakery in Yemen whose owner was accused by the UN of being an al-Qaeda financier.
Thomas H. Nelson, an attorney for al-Haramain’s now- shuttered U.S. branch, called the terrorism accusation “ridiculous” in a phone interview from Welches, Oregon.
Barrett has removed 12 entities from the list this year. Some defunct companies are kept on to ensure they don’t revive, he said.
Death in Mali
Zerfaoui, who died in Mali in 2006, according to the UN, remains on the list because his name hasn’t come up for review.
“The problem with ‘dead’ people is proving that they are dead, particularly if they have died in ungoverned areas or countries where identities are uncertain and burials take place as soon as possible after death,” Barrett said in an e-mail.
Barrett, 60, a former officer of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, heads eight senior officials and about a dozen support staff from countries including Russia, France and the U.S., working from a midtown Manhattan office.
Many of Barrett’s security, intelligence and financial contacts are in countries that shy away from open cooperation with the U.S.
“This is a good way for the U.S. to get its agenda applied under a neutral flag,” said Barrett.
‘Significant Success’
Even with its flaws, the list helps the U.S. stifle al- Qaeda and the Taliban, said David S. Cohen, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing.
“We’ve had some significant success in degrading the financial facilitation networks by which al-Qaeda has been obtaining their funds,” he said in an interview.
Barrett said intelligence reports show al-Qaeda and the Taliban made several appeals for cash this year, a signal they are hurting from the sanctions. He said he didn’t have data from member states to show conclusively how much money has been seized under the sanctions.
Critics of the program including Jean-Charles Brisard, a former head of corporate intelligence at Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA, said the UN hasn’t kept up with terrorists’ financing methods. Since 2003, the amount of assets frozen and the number of names on the list has remained at about $80 million and 500 people, said Brisard, now a consultant for families of Sept. 11 victims.
“That’s quite ridiculous,” he said from Paris.
Legal Challenges
Countries have also been reluctant to enforce the sanctions out of concern the list won’t stand up to legal challenges, said Brisard and Barrett.
A Saudi businessman, Yassin Abdullah Kadi, also known as Yasin al-Qadi, who is on the list for allegedly supplying arms and funds to al-Qaeda and had his assets frozen, appealed to the European Court of Justice. The court ruled last year that the European Union regulations enforcing the UN sanctions denied his rights, including the right to judicial review. The asset freeze, the court said, was “an unjustified restriction” on property rights.
The council is discussing new rules on the listing and appeals process.
“For the sanctions to be efficient,” Barrett said, “they have to be respected.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter S. Green in New York at psgreen@bloomberg.net.
Source: Bloomberg
Rabu, 23 Mei 2012
France places nine under investigation for funding terrorism
PARIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Nine people suspected of having taken part in raising funds for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU),which is regarded as the most fearsome of fundamentalist organizations in Central Asia, have been formally placed under investigations, the French media has reported.
These people, of whom a majority is Turkish and other French, have been placed under investigation for "criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise and financing of terrorism" by Thierry Fragnoli and Philippe Coirre, French anti-terrorist judges, a judicial source said .
Four of the suspects, who are seen as the main masterminds behind the network, are expected to be presented before a judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) where the prosecutions will ask for them to be placed in remand custody pending investigations.
The five others, who are mainly presented as fundraisers for the organization, will be released under judicial control, said the same source.
During searches at the homes of the suspects, investigators had managed to seize thousands of euros in cash and two handguns, said a source close to the case, adding that computer hard drives and large quantities of documentation had also been recovered.
According to French investigators, the network, which is suspected of financing terrorism related activities, had also tried to win converts to their cause at two mosques in the Lyon region.
A propaganda video was seized by investigators, according to a security officer, who said that the group was eventually trying to transform into a vehicle smuggling young people to combat coalition troops in Iraq.
The nine people were all arrested in France, notably on May 16,during a vast police operation by officers from the Directorate of Territorial Security (DST) backed by elements from the RAID, an elite police unit that specializes in Research, assistance, intervention and deterrence.
Two other people, described as central figures in the network, were arrested the same day in Germany and the Netherlands, after French judicial authorities issued international warrants against them. The two are set to be extradited to stand trial with their brothers in arms.
According to intelligence circles, IMU, which is suspected to have links with al Qaida, was formed in 1998 with the aim of overthrowing Uzbek President Islam Karimov. The organization reportedly launched a series of guerrilla operations against his regime from its bases in Tajikistan and Afghanistan in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After IMU military commander Juma Namangani died in Afghanistan in 2001, the organization, a close ally of the Taliban, has been especially active in the tribal areas near the common Afghan-Pakistani border.
Editor: Song Shutao
These people, of whom a majority is Turkish and other French, have been placed under investigation for "criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise and financing of terrorism" by Thierry Fragnoli and Philippe Coirre, French anti-terrorist judges, a judicial source said .
Four of the suspects, who are seen as the main masterminds behind the network, are expected to be presented before a judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) where the prosecutions will ask for them to be placed in remand custody pending investigations.
The five others, who are mainly presented as fundraisers for the organization, will be released under judicial control, said the same source.
During searches at the homes of the suspects, investigators had managed to seize thousands of euros in cash and two handguns, said a source close to the case, adding that computer hard drives and large quantities of documentation had also been recovered.
According to French investigators, the network, which is suspected of financing terrorism related activities, had also tried to win converts to their cause at two mosques in the Lyon region.
A propaganda video was seized by investigators, according to a security officer, who said that the group was eventually trying to transform into a vehicle smuggling young people to combat coalition troops in Iraq.
The nine people were all arrested in France, notably on May 16,during a vast police operation by officers from the Directorate of Territorial Security (DST) backed by elements from the RAID, an elite police unit that specializes in Research, assistance, intervention and deterrence.
Two other people, described as central figures in the network, were arrested the same day in Germany and the Netherlands, after French judicial authorities issued international warrants against them. The two are set to be extradited to stand trial with their brothers in arms.
According to intelligence circles, IMU, which is suspected to have links with al Qaida, was formed in 1998 with the aim of overthrowing Uzbek President Islam Karimov. The organization reportedly launched a series of guerrilla operations against his regime from its bases in Tajikistan and Afghanistan in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After IMU military commander Juma Namangani died in Afghanistan in 2001, the organization, a close ally of the Taliban, has been especially active in the tribal areas near the common Afghan-Pakistani border.
Editor: Song Shutao
Senin, 21 Mei 2012
Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism
Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism draws international terrorism experts to Colombo
20th October 2007
The three-day International Conference on Countering Terrorism is now on in Colombo on the theme 'Terrorism: A Challenge to Democratically Elected Governments.' The Conference, brought together renowned terrorism experts, including from the academia and the media, from 23 countries including Australia, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. It was also widely attended by the Diplomatic Community .
Delivering the Inaugural Address, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, highlighted that "Sri Lanka had been a foot soldier in the battle against terrorism over a long period of time and notwithstanding some impediments and setbacks, can in several aspects count itself as having been a success story in the battle against terrorism." Sri Lanka's refusal to compromise or condone terrorism while constantly seeking to resolve the conflict through political means, to persuade other states to proscribe the LTTE, prevent money flows and apprehend those conniving with terrorists, has been significant. Successive governments and the people of Sri Lanka have also shown considerable resilience in the face of terror, whilst also ensuring that economic growth was not compromised. The Minister hoped that the deliberations of this Conference would, among other matters focus on the need for states to go beyond merely adopting conventions, to convert these into tangible action by developing enabling legislation and taking concrete action against those including terrorist front organizations operating from their soil. Noting that a bulk of maritime traffic passes through the Indian Ocean region and that in recent times many acts of terrorism had taken place in these waters, the Minister emphasized the urgent necessity to develop robust modalities to arrest the growing threat that faces Indian Ocean states from terrorists.
The former Director of the European Center for the Study of Conflicts in France, and one of the earliest writers in the field of terrorism, Dr. Gerard Chaliand traced the evolution of terrorism over the years. Referring to the LTTE, he said "the independence they ask cannot be granted and should not be granted, not only because no State is willing to accept such a blow to its sovereignity but also because, like the Shining Path or the Khmer Rouges, the LTTE under the leadership of V. Prabhakaran is a totalitarian movement, which has transformed its groups into a killing machine." He said "the most important thing about the LTTE is that it is a totalitarian movement fighting in a country which is democratic." He said the "LTTE has brutally eliminated all other parties or groups willing to represent the Tamils". "An absolutely intolerant sect, no peace seems possible with V. Prabhakaran as we have seen from the peace process of 2002-2005, which was but a tactical truce", Dr. Chaliand added.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Palitha Kohona delivering the vote-of-thanks repeated the unprecedented challenge Sri Lanka faces in combating terrorism and Sri Lanka. He said the world had focused on international terrorism only after 9/11 but terrorism had affected countries long before then. He emphasized that "the international rule of law against terrorism is being strong themed each year," adding that "there are 13 UN Conventions addressing different dimensions of the global terrorist threat and a comprehensive convention is being negotiated." The Foreign Secretary pointed out that "terrorism will never be eradicated solely by cooperation among law enforcement officials. It requires a concerted political effort and policy coordination among countries. Further it also requires an ability to understand and minimize the motivation and impetus that inspire terrorist acts."
Renowned Chairman of the French Anti-Terrorist Judges, Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere, who was the Guest of Honour of the Conference, and addressing the first panel of the day focused on the international responses to terrorism, traced the manner in which international efforts at responding to terrorism have evolved over the years, stating that if the fight against terrorism is an inescapable requirement, "we owe it to ourselves to reinforce our international cooperation at every level, notably by adopting multilateral or bilateral conventions in the field of judicial cooperation as well as extradition." He said the French Government considers "that an organization like the LTTE is a terrorist organization like any other and that its activities even in the area of logistics, have to be repressed with the same vigour as for terrorist networks operating on our [French] soil and threatening us directly" and that on this basis "that in April this year the French Government had dismantled a vast network of Tamil militants who actively supported the LTTE, notably at the financial level."
This session, which was chaired by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Colombo, Prof. Amal Jayawardena,while the discussants were the Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr. Rifaat Hussain and the Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Dr. Ms. Irka Kuleshnyk.
Addressing the panel on regional responses to terrorism, former Commander of the Indian Army, Gen. V. P. Malik emphasized the need to combat and defeat terrorism in all its manifestations. He said "terrorist activities anywhere will stop only when their fuel runs out." Gen. Malik who traced the important steps taken to counter terrorism in South Asia, emphasized the need for a regional strategy and cooperation, but essentially local operatives and doctrines.
Former Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo, chaired this session, while the discussants comprised the Associate Research Fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, Prof. Zhang Lijun, the Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Vladimir Titokerni as well as the Pro-Chancellor and Director of the School of Science and Forensic Science, National Law University Rajastan, India, Prof. P. Chandra Sekharan.
The third thematic session focused on the domestic dimensions of terrorism where the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, who was the principal speaker, who joining the deliberations on a video link, highlighted the recent successes of the security forces in combating LTTE terrorism. He noted that within the year the Sri Lanka Navy destroyed eight merchant vessels. In order to defeat the LTTE, Dr. Gunaratna articulated the need for strengthening and building capacity in the intelligence field, with a high degree of professionalism, and also stressed the necessity for special forces and elite units that could target the leadership of the LTTE.
Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Chandra Fernando chaired the discussion at which intervention were made by Deputy Solicitor General, Mr. Dappula de Livera and Prof. Karunaratne Hangawatte of the University of Nevada.
The final panel discussion of the day focused of the critical area of combating terrorist financing, where the Founder and CEO of World-Check, Mr. David Leppan spoke extensively on the manner in which terror groups collect funds and their illegal activities.
Researcher of the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism of the Macquarie University of Australia, Mr. Shanaka Jayasekera the co-speaker at this session noted that the LTTE's supply chain capability has been significantly disrupted, estimated at between 65% to 70%. This would result in the need for the LTTE to aggressively campaign for fund raising activities in the 12 top level resource mobilization countries. In order to maintain the advantage the Government has achieved, it is imperative that the fund-raising be curbed with international cooperation in the next few months. Therefore it is suggested that a contact group be established as a prelude to the commencement of a political process."
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ms. Ranee Jayamaha chaired the sessions, at which the discussants were Mrs. Joan De Zilva Moonesinghe formerly of the Financial Investigation Unit and the Advisor of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank, Mr. Eric Stonecipher.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
20 October 2007
20th October 2007
The three-day International Conference on Countering Terrorism is now on in Colombo on the theme 'Terrorism: A Challenge to Democratically Elected Governments.' The Conference, brought together renowned terrorism experts, including from the academia and the media, from 23 countries including Australia, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. It was also widely attended by the Diplomatic Community .
Delivering the Inaugural Address, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, highlighted that "Sri Lanka had been a foot soldier in the battle against terrorism over a long period of time and notwithstanding some impediments and setbacks, can in several aspects count itself as having been a success story in the battle against terrorism." Sri Lanka's refusal to compromise or condone terrorism while constantly seeking to resolve the conflict through political means, to persuade other states to proscribe the LTTE, prevent money flows and apprehend those conniving with terrorists, has been significant. Successive governments and the people of Sri Lanka have also shown considerable resilience in the face of terror, whilst also ensuring that economic growth was not compromised. The Minister hoped that the deliberations of this Conference would, among other matters focus on the need for states to go beyond merely adopting conventions, to convert these into tangible action by developing enabling legislation and taking concrete action against those including terrorist front organizations operating from their soil. Noting that a bulk of maritime traffic passes through the Indian Ocean region and that in recent times many acts of terrorism had taken place in these waters, the Minister emphasized the urgent necessity to develop robust modalities to arrest the growing threat that faces Indian Ocean states from terrorists.
The former Director of the European Center for the Study of Conflicts in France, and one of the earliest writers in the field of terrorism, Dr. Gerard Chaliand traced the evolution of terrorism over the years. Referring to the LTTE, he said "the independence they ask cannot be granted and should not be granted, not only because no State is willing to accept such a blow to its sovereignity but also because, like the Shining Path or the Khmer Rouges, the LTTE under the leadership of V. Prabhakaran is a totalitarian movement, which has transformed its groups into a killing machine." He said "the most important thing about the LTTE is that it is a totalitarian movement fighting in a country which is democratic." He said the "LTTE has brutally eliminated all other parties or groups willing to represent the Tamils". "An absolutely intolerant sect, no peace seems possible with V. Prabhakaran as we have seen from the peace process of 2002-2005, which was but a tactical truce", Dr. Chaliand added.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Palitha Kohona delivering the vote-of-thanks repeated the unprecedented challenge Sri Lanka faces in combating terrorism and Sri Lanka. He said the world had focused on international terrorism only after 9/11 but terrorism had affected countries long before then. He emphasized that "the international rule of law against terrorism is being strong themed each year," adding that "there are 13 UN Conventions addressing different dimensions of the global terrorist threat and a comprehensive convention is being negotiated." The Foreign Secretary pointed out that "terrorism will never be eradicated solely by cooperation among law enforcement officials. It requires a concerted political effort and policy coordination among countries. Further it also requires an ability to understand and minimize the motivation and impetus that inspire terrorist acts."
Renowned Chairman of the French Anti-Terrorist Judges, Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere, who was the Guest of Honour of the Conference, and addressing the first panel of the day focused on the international responses to terrorism, traced the manner in which international efforts at responding to terrorism have evolved over the years, stating that if the fight against terrorism is an inescapable requirement, "we owe it to ourselves to reinforce our international cooperation at every level, notably by adopting multilateral or bilateral conventions in the field of judicial cooperation as well as extradition." He said the French Government considers "that an organization like the LTTE is a terrorist organization like any other and that its activities even in the area of logistics, have to be repressed with the same vigour as for terrorist networks operating on our [French] soil and threatening us directly" and that on this basis "that in April this year the French Government had dismantled a vast network of Tamil militants who actively supported the LTTE, notably at the financial level."
This session, which was chaired by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Colombo, Prof. Amal Jayawardena,while the discussants were the Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr. Rifaat Hussain and the Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Dr. Ms. Irka Kuleshnyk.
Addressing the panel on regional responses to terrorism, former Commander of the Indian Army, Gen. V. P. Malik emphasized the need to combat and defeat terrorism in all its manifestations. He said "terrorist activities anywhere will stop only when their fuel runs out." Gen. Malik who traced the important steps taken to counter terrorism in South Asia, emphasized the need for a regional strategy and cooperation, but essentially local operatives and doctrines.
Former Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo, chaired this session, while the discussants comprised the Associate Research Fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, Prof. Zhang Lijun, the Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Vladimir Titokerni as well as the Pro-Chancellor and Director of the School of Science and Forensic Science, National Law University Rajastan, India, Prof. P. Chandra Sekharan.
The third thematic session focused on the domestic dimensions of terrorism where the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, who was the principal speaker, who joining the deliberations on a video link, highlighted the recent successes of the security forces in combating LTTE terrorism. He noted that within the year the Sri Lanka Navy destroyed eight merchant vessels. In order to defeat the LTTE, Dr. Gunaratna articulated the need for strengthening and building capacity in the intelligence field, with a high degree of professionalism, and also stressed the necessity for special forces and elite units that could target the leadership of the LTTE.
Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Chandra Fernando chaired the discussion at which intervention were made by Deputy Solicitor General, Mr. Dappula de Livera and Prof. Karunaratne Hangawatte of the University of Nevada.
The final panel discussion of the day focused of the critical area of combating terrorist financing, where the Founder and CEO of World-Check, Mr. David Leppan spoke extensively on the manner in which terror groups collect funds and their illegal activities.
Researcher of the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism of the Macquarie University of Australia, Mr. Shanaka Jayasekera the co-speaker at this session noted that the LTTE's supply chain capability has been significantly disrupted, estimated at between 65% to 70%. This would result in the need for the LTTE to aggressively campaign for fund raising activities in the 12 top level resource mobilization countries. In order to maintain the advantage the Government has achieved, it is imperative that the fund-raising be curbed with international cooperation in the next few months. Therefore it is suggested that a contact group be established as a prelude to the commencement of a political process."
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ms. Ranee Jayamaha chaired the sessions, at which the discussants were Mrs. Joan De Zilva Moonesinghe formerly of the Financial Investigation Unit and the Advisor of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank, Mr. Eric Stonecipher.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
20 October 2007
Minggu, 20 Mei 2012
Another tack in terror-financier lawsuit
By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer
Only days after suffering a significant setback in their lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, lawyers at Cozen O'Connor and other plaintiffs' lawyers have opened a new front in their battle to hold terrorism financiers accountable for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In court papers filed in federal district court in Manhattan, Cozen O'Connor, based in Center City, and the others are asking for additional discovery against the Saudi-owned National Commercial Bank, the largest bank in the Arab world.
Cozen represents three dozen insurers in its attempt to hold Saudi Arabia, several Islamist charities, banks, and financiers liable for more than $5 billion in damages.
While the lawyers have yet to generate evidence showing that any senior Saudi official conspired with al-Qaeda to attack the United States, they allege that Saudi money, some of it from the government, fueled al-Qaeda's rise from ragtag regional terrorists into global threat.
To support their claim for more discovery against the National Commercial Bank, the plaintiffs have filed new evidence they say suggests the bank was a conduit for funds to Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks, including previously unreleased French diplomatic cables and a report by German intelligence.
The primary vehicle for the money-laundering scheme, the plaintiffs' lawyers allege, was a now-defunct Islamic charity called Muwafaq Foundation, which was established by two former senior officials of the bank. "NCB's sponsorship of al-Qaeda flowed largely, although not exclusively, through Muwafaq Foundation," said Cozen O'Connor lawyer Sean Carter, in a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas, who is managing discovery in the sprawling case.
A lawyer for National Commercial Bank did not return phone calls for comment. But in a July 22 motion to dismiss the case, Mitchell Berger, the bank's attorney, argued that the plaintiffs had failed to produce facts showing that NCB "played a knowing role in financing terrorist activities."
"Plaintiffs offer only speculation and hearsay in their effort to link NCB to al-Qaeda terrorists who committed the Sept. 11 attacks," he said.
The request for additional discovery against NCB and two of its former executives, Yassin al-Kadi, designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorism financier, and Khalid bin Mahfouz, a wealthy Saudi businessman who once had an ownership interest in NCB, is the latest front in a long-running litigation battle that began within days of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Al-Kadi's attorney could not be located; bin Mahfouz's attorney in Washington did not return a call for comment.
On Thursday, Cozen and other plaintiffs' lawyers suffered a serious reversal when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia could not be sued because such lawsuits are barred unless the State Department had officially designated a government as a supporter of terror.
There has been no such finding in the case of Saudi Arabia.
Lawyers for Cozen and other firmssay they likely will appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. Such efforts usually are long shots; the Supreme Court typically accepts only about 1 percent of the cases submitted to it on appeal.
But quite apart from Saudi Arabia, the Second Circuit ruling leaves untouched, for the moment at least, scores of other defendants with ties to the Saudi government such as the charities and the National Commercial Bank.
The lower court overseeing the litigation already has authorized limited discovery - the process by which lawyers for both sides get to question witnesses and request documents that they believe will prove their main assertions.
It was in response to a motion by lawyers for National Commercial Bank that discovery be halted and the case dismissed that lawyers for Cozen, which is representing dozens of U.S. and global insurers, and other firms representing victims and survivors of the attacks filed their discovery motion.
They charge that al-Kadi, himself a wealthy Saudi businessman who has had investments throughout the world, including in the United States, and bin Mahfouz founded the Muwafaq or Blessed Relief Foundation while they were affiliated with NCB in the early 1990s and used it to funnel money to al-Qaeda.
The plaintiffs' lawyers cite as evidence a U.S. Treasury Department finding in 2001 that al-Kadi had helped bankroll various terrorist organizations including Hamas and that he maintained a close relationship with Wa'el Julaidan, also designated, who allegedly helped bin Laden found al-Qaeda and who allegedly helped bankroll terror cells around the world.
In a related letter to Swiss authorities in 2001, then Treasury general counsel David D. Aufhauser said, "Mr. Kadi's actions and those of his Muwafaq Foundation and businesses . . . give rise to a reasonable basis to believe that they have facilitated terrorist activities."
The plaintiffs also filed what they said were reports by the Bundesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz, a German intelligence service, asserting that the NCB was used to launder money into al-Qaeda. Also filed was what plaintiffs' lawyers said was a cable from the former French ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1998 to 2004, Bernard Poletti, to the French foreign ministry.
In the cable, Poletti says Saudi authorities had unearthed information that bin Mahfouz had been involved in fund transfers from NCB to an Islamic charity that in turn directed the money to bin Laden.
Bin Mahfouz has never been designated by U.S. authorities as a terrorism supporter. The National Commercial Bank, of which he was chief executive officer, was described as a conduit for money to Islamic terrorist groups in congressional testimony by Vincent Cannistraro, former chief of counterterrorism operations at the CIA
"There is little doubt that a financial conduit to bin Laden was handled through the National Commercial Bank," Cannistraro said in testimony before the House Committee on International Relations on Oct. 3, 2001.
Bin Mahfouz has bitterly rejected assertions that he helped support terrorists. On the bin Mahfouz family Web site he has posted a history of challenges to publications and individuals he says have unfairly accused him of supporting terrorism.
In this regard, he has had considerable success.
In one notable example in 2007, bin Mahfouz and his attorneys successfully pressured Cambridge University Press to apologize for the April 2006 publication of Alms for Jihad, which accused bin Mahfouz and members of his family of supporting terrorism. The publisher also promised to destroy unsold copies of the book that at the time still were in warehouses or accessible through the distribution chain.
In another example, bin Mahfouz successfully sued terrorism author Rachel Ehrenfeld in British courts for falsely accusing him of terrorism ties, an allegation she bitterly denies. She was ordered to pay $225,000 in damages and to destroy copies of her book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read an Inquirer series on the 9/11 lawsuit, plus court documents, at http://go.philly.com/cozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Chris Mondics at 215-854-5957 or cmondics@phillynews.com .
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Inquirer Staff Writer
Only days after suffering a significant setback in their lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, lawyers at Cozen O'Connor and other plaintiffs' lawyers have opened a new front in their battle to hold terrorism financiers accountable for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In court papers filed in federal district court in Manhattan, Cozen O'Connor, based in Center City, and the others are asking for additional discovery against the Saudi-owned National Commercial Bank, the largest bank in the Arab world.
Cozen represents three dozen insurers in its attempt to hold Saudi Arabia, several Islamist charities, banks, and financiers liable for more than $5 billion in damages.
While the lawyers have yet to generate evidence showing that any senior Saudi official conspired with al-Qaeda to attack the United States, they allege that Saudi money, some of it from the government, fueled al-Qaeda's rise from ragtag regional terrorists into global threat.
To support their claim for more discovery against the National Commercial Bank, the plaintiffs have filed new evidence they say suggests the bank was a conduit for funds to Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks, including previously unreleased French diplomatic cables and a report by German intelligence.
The primary vehicle for the money-laundering scheme, the plaintiffs' lawyers allege, was a now-defunct Islamic charity called Muwafaq Foundation, which was established by two former senior officials of the bank. "NCB's sponsorship of al-Qaeda flowed largely, although not exclusively, through Muwafaq Foundation," said Cozen O'Connor lawyer Sean Carter, in a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas, who is managing discovery in the sprawling case.
A lawyer for National Commercial Bank did not return phone calls for comment. But in a July 22 motion to dismiss the case, Mitchell Berger, the bank's attorney, argued that the plaintiffs had failed to produce facts showing that NCB "played a knowing role in financing terrorist activities."
"Plaintiffs offer only speculation and hearsay in their effort to link NCB to al-Qaeda terrorists who committed the Sept. 11 attacks," he said.
The request for additional discovery against NCB and two of its former executives, Yassin al-Kadi, designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorism financier, and Khalid bin Mahfouz, a wealthy Saudi businessman who once had an ownership interest in NCB, is the latest front in a long-running litigation battle that began within days of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Al-Kadi's attorney could not be located; bin Mahfouz's attorney in Washington did not return a call for comment.
On Thursday, Cozen and other plaintiffs' lawyers suffered a serious reversal when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia could not be sued because such lawsuits are barred unless the State Department had officially designated a government as a supporter of terror.
There has been no such finding in the case of Saudi Arabia.
Lawyers for Cozen and other firmssay they likely will appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. Such efforts usually are long shots; the Supreme Court typically accepts only about 1 percent of the cases submitted to it on appeal.
But quite apart from Saudi Arabia, the Second Circuit ruling leaves untouched, for the moment at least, scores of other defendants with ties to the Saudi government such as the charities and the National Commercial Bank.
The lower court overseeing the litigation already has authorized limited discovery - the process by which lawyers for both sides get to question witnesses and request documents that they believe will prove their main assertions.
It was in response to a motion by lawyers for National Commercial Bank that discovery be halted and the case dismissed that lawyers for Cozen, which is representing dozens of U.S. and global insurers, and other firms representing victims and survivors of the attacks filed their discovery motion.
They charge that al-Kadi, himself a wealthy Saudi businessman who has had investments throughout the world, including in the United States, and bin Mahfouz founded the Muwafaq or Blessed Relief Foundation while they were affiliated with NCB in the early 1990s and used it to funnel money to al-Qaeda.
The plaintiffs' lawyers cite as evidence a U.S. Treasury Department finding in 2001 that al-Kadi had helped bankroll various terrorist organizations including Hamas and that he maintained a close relationship with Wa'el Julaidan, also designated, who allegedly helped bin Laden found al-Qaeda and who allegedly helped bankroll terror cells around the world.
In a related letter to Swiss authorities in 2001, then Treasury general counsel David D. Aufhauser said, "Mr. Kadi's actions and those of his Muwafaq Foundation and businesses . . . give rise to a reasonable basis to believe that they have facilitated terrorist activities."
The plaintiffs also filed what they said were reports by the Bundesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz, a German intelligence service, asserting that the NCB was used to launder money into al-Qaeda. Also filed was what plaintiffs' lawyers said was a cable from the former French ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1998 to 2004, Bernard Poletti, to the French foreign ministry.
In the cable, Poletti says Saudi authorities had unearthed information that bin Mahfouz had been involved in fund transfers from NCB to an Islamic charity that in turn directed the money to bin Laden.
Bin Mahfouz has never been designated by U.S. authorities as a terrorism supporter. The National Commercial Bank, of which he was chief executive officer, was described as a conduit for money to Islamic terrorist groups in congressional testimony by Vincent Cannistraro, former chief of counterterrorism operations at the CIA
"There is little doubt that a financial conduit to bin Laden was handled through the National Commercial Bank," Cannistraro said in testimony before the House Committee on International Relations on Oct. 3, 2001.
Bin Mahfouz has bitterly rejected assertions that he helped support terrorists. On the bin Mahfouz family Web site he has posted a history of challenges to publications and individuals he says have unfairly accused him of supporting terrorism.
In this regard, he has had considerable success.
In one notable example in 2007, bin Mahfouz and his attorneys successfully pressured Cambridge University Press to apologize for the April 2006 publication of Alms for Jihad, which accused bin Mahfouz and members of his family of supporting terrorism. The publisher also promised to destroy unsold copies of the book that at the time still were in warehouses or accessible through the distribution chain.
In another example, bin Mahfouz successfully sued terrorism author Rachel Ehrenfeld in British courts for falsely accusing him of terrorism ties, an allegation she bitterly denies. She was ordered to pay $225,000 in damages and to destroy copies of her book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read an Inquirer series on the 9/11 lawsuit, plus court documents, at http://go.philly.com/cozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Chris Mondics at 215-854-5957 or cmondics@phillynews.com .
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Jumat, 18 Mei 2012
Libya's Membership Application To MENAFATF Approved
Members of the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing organization, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force, or MENAFATF, approved Libya's membership application Tuesday, MENAFATF President Abdulrahim Al Awadi said.
"The plenary of 17 members approved the application of Libya to be a member and the application of the World Customs Organization to be an observer member," Al Awadi told reporters in Fujeirah, United Arab Emirates.
Libya will become the 18th member state of the organization, which was set up in November 2004 and includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Sudan, Iraq and Egypt. The U.S., U.K., France and Spain are observer members, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The U.A.E. currently holds the presidency.
The U.A.E., which is keen to expand membership, also proposed that Djbouti, Comoros Islands, Seychelles and Maldives become members. The proposal is still being studied by member states.
Al Awadi added that the taskforce will meet next in Bahrain, which takes over the presidency of the organization in May 2009.
He also said that the global credit crisis won't draw attention away from fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.
"Members reiterate the financial crisis should not affect progress and, on the contrary, will add resolve to progress," Al Awadi said.
Source: Zawya
"The plenary of 17 members approved the application of Libya to be a member and the application of the World Customs Organization to be an observer member," Al Awadi told reporters in Fujeirah, United Arab Emirates.
Libya will become the 18th member state of the organization, which was set up in November 2004 and includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Sudan, Iraq and Egypt. The U.S., U.K., France and Spain are observer members, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The U.A.E. currently holds the presidency.
The U.A.E., which is keen to expand membership, also proposed that Djbouti, Comoros Islands, Seychelles and Maldives become members. The proposal is still being studied by member states.
Al Awadi added that the taskforce will meet next in Bahrain, which takes over the presidency of the organization in May 2009.
He also said that the global credit crisis won't draw attention away from fighting money laundering and terrorist financing.
"Members reiterate the financial crisis should not affect progress and, on the contrary, will add resolve to progress," Al Awadi said.
Source: Zawya
Kamis, 17 Mei 2012
EU to tighten screw on Tehran bank
By Daniel Dombey in Washington, Financial Times, 15 May 2008
Bank Melli, Iran's biggest commercial bank, is set to be banned from operating in the European Union under proposals in the final stages of discussion in Brussels.
At present, the bank operates branches in the City of London, France and Germany, so blunting American calls for other jurisdictions to break off ties with Iranian institutions, particularly in the Gulf.
"It is important for the EU to come to agreement on stepping up financial pressure on Iranian banks as a means of demonstrating to the Iranian regime how seriously we take their nuclear proliferation," said a European diplomat.
But the time and effort it has taken to get agreement on the move, which comes after a year-long push by the US and its allies, highlight the problems Washington may face in its quest to win international support for tougher sanctions and so convince Tehran to rein in its nuclear programme.
"Many people around the world are looking to Europe on this issue," Stuart Levey, US treasury undersecretary, told the FT. "What Europe does is quite important."
The US effort dates back to last summer, when negotiations began on a UN Security Council resolution that Washington and its allies wanted to prevent Melli and another Iranian bank, Bank Saderat, from doing business internationally.
In October, the Bush administration intensified its effort with unilateral sanctions against a number of Iranian institutions – including both Melli and Saderat – measures that Washington pushed other jurisdictions to emulate.
"We call on responsible banks and companies around the world to terminate any business with Bank Melli, Bank Mellat [another Iranian bank], Bank Saderat, and all companies and entities of [Iran's] Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," Hank Paulson, treasury secretary, said on that occasion.
However, Washington found itself caught in a "catch-22" when it pushed the UK, its closest ally, to close Melli and Saderat's operations in London. Britain said it could act only as part of a general EU decision and, within the EU, countries such as Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy called for a UN decision before they would proceed.
Seeking to break the impasse, the US, Britain and France finally won agreement on a UN Security Council resolution in March that merely called on member states to exercise "vigilance" over Iranian banks, especially Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, due to what it said was their link to proliferation and Iran's nuclear programme.
"It's pretty clear that the US had hoped that this would happen more quickly and perhaps be a little bit more robust," said Mr Levey.
Diplomats said the UN resolution was designed to "open the door" to an outright EU ban on the banks' subsidiaries in Europe. However, the EU has been reluctant to take action against Bank Saderat, which is principally faulted by the US for funnelling funds to Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement. The Islamist organisation is not on the EU's list of proscribed terrorist organisations.
Throughout the past year, Iran has continued to expand its nuclear programme, announcing plans last month to install 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium – although many western diplomats and analysts question their efficiency.
While Iran insists its programme is purely peaceful, the US and its allies accuse it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
US diplomats add that at present they are reluctant to embark on an attempt to pass another UN Security Council resolution because of the risk that it will provide meagre returns while highlighting differences with Russia and China, which are sceptical about further sanctions.
But Mr Levey said the financial sanctions, international warnings about the risk of money laundering and terror-financing in Iran, and related moves by international banks to scale down business with Tehran had had a big impact.
"It certainly has made the cost of financing [in Iran] to the extent that anyone has offered it at all, much more expensive," he said.
http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=563862
Bank Melli, Iran's biggest commercial bank, is set to be banned from operating in the European Union under proposals in the final stages of discussion in Brussels.
At present, the bank operates branches in the City of London, France and Germany, so blunting American calls for other jurisdictions to break off ties with Iranian institutions, particularly in the Gulf.
"It is important for the EU to come to agreement on stepping up financial pressure on Iranian banks as a means of demonstrating to the Iranian regime how seriously we take their nuclear proliferation," said a European diplomat.
But the time and effort it has taken to get agreement on the move, which comes after a year-long push by the US and its allies, highlight the problems Washington may face in its quest to win international support for tougher sanctions and so convince Tehran to rein in its nuclear programme.
"Many people around the world are looking to Europe on this issue," Stuart Levey, US treasury undersecretary, told the FT. "What Europe does is quite important."
The US effort dates back to last summer, when negotiations began on a UN Security Council resolution that Washington and its allies wanted to prevent Melli and another Iranian bank, Bank Saderat, from doing business internationally.
In October, the Bush administration intensified its effort with unilateral sanctions against a number of Iranian institutions – including both Melli and Saderat – measures that Washington pushed other jurisdictions to emulate.
"We call on responsible banks and companies around the world to terminate any business with Bank Melli, Bank Mellat [another Iranian bank], Bank Saderat, and all companies and entities of [Iran's] Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," Hank Paulson, treasury secretary, said on that occasion.
However, Washington found itself caught in a "catch-22" when it pushed the UK, its closest ally, to close Melli and Saderat's operations in London. Britain said it could act only as part of a general EU decision and, within the EU, countries such as Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy called for a UN decision before they would proceed.
Seeking to break the impasse, the US, Britain and France finally won agreement on a UN Security Council resolution in March that merely called on member states to exercise "vigilance" over Iranian banks, especially Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, due to what it said was their link to proliferation and Iran's nuclear programme.
"It's pretty clear that the US had hoped that this would happen more quickly and perhaps be a little bit more robust," said Mr Levey.
Diplomats said the UN resolution was designed to "open the door" to an outright EU ban on the banks' subsidiaries in Europe. However, the EU has been reluctant to take action against Bank Saderat, which is principally faulted by the US for funnelling funds to Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement. The Islamist organisation is not on the EU's list of proscribed terrorist organisations.
Throughout the past year, Iran has continued to expand its nuclear programme, announcing plans last month to install 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium – although many western diplomats and analysts question their efficiency.
While Iran insists its programme is purely peaceful, the US and its allies accuse it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
US diplomats add that at present they are reluctant to embark on an attempt to pass another UN Security Council resolution because of the risk that it will provide meagre returns while highlighting differences with Russia and China, which are sceptical about further sanctions.
But Mr Levey said the financial sanctions, international warnings about the risk of money laundering and terror-financing in Iran, and related moves by international banks to scale down business with Tehran had had a big impact.
"It certainly has made the cost of financing [in Iran] to the extent that anyone has offered it at all, much more expensive," he said.
http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=563862
Rabu, 16 Mei 2012
Iran Denies Its Banks Fund Terrorism
Iran on Friday denied accusations by France, Britain and the United States that its banks were involved in illegal nuclear activity and in financing terrorism.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed three sets of limited sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. The third sanctions resolution adopted in March calls on all countries "to exercise vigilance" on financial transactions with all Iran banks, especially Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, to avoid any support for nuclear-related activities.
Iran has refused to comply with repeated international demands to halt nuclear enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons or nuclear energy. The U.S. suspects the program is aimed at making nuclear weapons, but Iran maintains it is for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this month, Britain, France and the U.S. warned in a letter to the Security Council against "Iran's continued attempts to conduct prohibited proliferation-related activity and terrorist financing." The three Western allies argued that Iranian banks were trying to get around sanctions by covertly conducting transactions.
Iran rejected the charge in a letter to the Council on Friday, saying Iranian banks "have never been involved in any illicit activities including in non-peaceful nuclear activities— simply because there are no such non-peaceful nuclear activities in Iran."
It called the allegation that the banks were being used to finance terrorist activities "baseless and absurd," saying it was "a malicious attempt to unjustifiably dissuade others from dealing with Iranian banks..."
"The attempt of the three countries to seek the restriction of the activities of the Iranian banks is intended not only to exert undue pressure on the Iranian government, but also to disrupt the banking and financial affairs of millions of deposit holders and customers of those banks," Iran's deputy ambassador Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi said in the letter.
Last week, the European Union tightened trade sanctions against Iran beyond the existing U.N. sanctions. France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said European governments would also carefully watch financial groups doing business with Iranian banks.
Source: Fox News
The U.N. Security Council has imposed three sets of limited sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. The third sanctions resolution adopted in March calls on all countries "to exercise vigilance" on financial transactions with all Iran banks, especially Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, to avoid any support for nuclear-related activities.
Iran has refused to comply with repeated international demands to halt nuclear enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons or nuclear energy. The U.S. suspects the program is aimed at making nuclear weapons, but Iran maintains it is for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this month, Britain, France and the U.S. warned in a letter to the Security Council against "Iran's continued attempts to conduct prohibited proliferation-related activity and terrorist financing." The three Western allies argued that Iranian banks were trying to get around sanctions by covertly conducting transactions.
Iran rejected the charge in a letter to the Council on Friday, saying Iranian banks "have never been involved in any illicit activities including in non-peaceful nuclear activities— simply because there are no such non-peaceful nuclear activities in Iran."
It called the allegation that the banks were being used to finance terrorist activities "baseless and absurd," saying it was "a malicious attempt to unjustifiably dissuade others from dealing with Iranian banks..."
"The attempt of the three countries to seek the restriction of the activities of the Iranian banks is intended not only to exert undue pressure on the Iranian government, but also to disrupt the banking and financial affairs of millions of deposit holders and customers of those banks," Iran's deputy ambassador Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi said in the letter.
Last week, the European Union tightened trade sanctions against Iran beyond the existing U.N. sanctions. France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said European governments would also carefully watch financial groups doing business with Iranian banks.
Source: Fox News
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