Report says effort to cut off terror funds foundering

International efforts to block the flow of funds to al Qaeda have failed to keep millions of dollars out of the hands of the terrorist network, according to a draft report by a United Nations panel that monitors the U.N.'s arms, travel and financial embargo against the group. "Al Qaeda is by all accounts 'fit and well' and poised to strike again at its leisure," The Washington Post on Wednesday quoted the report as saying. "The prime targets of the organization are likely to be persons and property of the United States of America and its allies in the fight against al Qaeda, as well as Israel." The report said that although the United States and other U.N. members froze more than $112 million in assets in the first months after the Sept. 11 attacks, only $10 million has been frozen in the past eight months. Al Qaeda operatives are suspected of having converted much of their funds into noncash assets, such as jewels, but the report said the network still collects money from the personal inheritance of its leader, Osama bin Laden, and from funds funneled through charitable groups. The Treasury Department, which is leading the administration's efforts to freeze the bank accounts of suspected terrorist supporters and to block other sources of funding, downplayed the U.N. panel's findings, saying its analysis was based on reports that "do not provide a complete picture of the success of our overall campaign to date." Treasury has designated 234 individuals and organizations as "financiers of terror" and has blocked their access to the international financial system, the department said in a statement Wednesday. The statement added that fighting the financial arm of terrorism also involves making arrests and deterring individuals who would support terrorist organizations. "The point isn't grabbing dollars in bank accounts…it is destroying the financial infrastructure of terrorism," the statement said. To that end, the Customs Service has established a task force, known as Operation Green Quest, made up of numerous law enforcement agencies. The task force investigates suspected financiers of terrorism and executes search and arrest warrants against them. A Green Quest spokesman had no comment on the U.N. report, but said the task force "is extremely active in investigating terrorist financing. In fact, we are investigating at least 400 leads at the current time." In the past nine months, Green Quest has served 78 search warrants in connection with its investigations, which have led to 42 arrests, 27 indictments and the seizure of $6.9 million from bank accounts and other locations, according to public documents. In addition, the task force has seized $16.3 million in currency and other cash instruments, such as checks, through an initiative to track money leaving the country at U.S. borders. In February, a Jordanian national named Nabeeh Awawdeh pleaded guilty to violating smuggling laws after trying to take $30,000 worth of checks to a Palestinian organization in Israel. Customs inspectors at Cleveland International Airport arrested Awawdeh in November 2001. In July, Customs officials at Detroit International Airport arrested Omar Shishani, a 47-year-old Jordanian, for carrying more than $12 million in allegedly bogus cashier's checks into the U.S. Federal officials have said that Shishani's name appears on a list of people trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Members of Shishani's family contend, however, that the name on the list is actually that of another Omar Shishani who died in Chechnya sometime in June.

Treasury and Customs point to those arrests as evidence that their counterterrorism strategy is working. Observers have noted that the movement of large amounts of cash is a strong signal that terrorist operations are actively being planned.

But federal investigators have shown that the cost of even massive attacks like those of Sept. 11 is quite low. Estimates are that the 19 suspected Sept. 11 hijackers financed their operation for less than $400,000. An April truck bombing of a synagogue in Tunisia, for which al Qaeda claimed responsibility, reportedly cost only $20,000. The U.N. report also criticized countries for publishing different lists of terrorists and their supporters. Having too many lists complicates efforts to block the flow of terrorist money, the report said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.