The war on terrorism proceeds on many different fronts. And one of the most important fronts is the terrorist finance front.
The U.S. is pressing the war against terror on every front — from the mountains of Afghanistan to the bank accounts of terrorist organizations. The first strike in the war against terror targeted the terrorists\’ financial support. We put the world\’s financial institutions on notice — if you do business with terrorists, if you support them or sponsor them, you will not do business with the United States of America.
Terrorists need money to carry out their evil deeds. And denying terrorists access to funds is a very real success in the war on terrorism. Since September 11, the United States and its allies in the war on terrorism have been winning the war on the financial front.
KEY SUCCESSES
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The coalition of countries supporting the financial war against terrorism has grown to 189.
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The United States has issued orders blocking the access of 150 known terrorists, terrorist organizations, and terrorist financial centers to the US financial system.
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Treasury\’s Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTAT) became operational in September. This new organization allows intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share information about terrorist financial activity. Treasury\’s new Operation Green Quest, an inter-agency body of expert financial investigators will follow this money trail wherever it may lead.
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As of November 13, 120 other countries and jurisdictions have joined the United States in blocking terrorist accounts, and others have requested US assistance in upgrading their legal and regulatory structures so that they can also block effectively.
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As of November 13, the US has blocked over $27 million in assets of the Taliban and al Qaida, and other nations have also blocked at least $29 million.
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On November 7, the US and its allies closed down operations of two major financial networks that al Qaida and Usama Bin Ladin have used both as sources of income and mechanisms to transfer funds. One of these networks, al Barakaat, moved millions of dollars a year through its 9 U.S. sites. Agents of Operation Green Quest and the FBI shut down the offices in the US and our allies in the UAE simultaneously shut down al Barakaat\’s home base there, paralyzing the nerve center of a principal al Qaida money mover.
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The Financial Action Task Force – the 29-nation group promoting policies to combat money laundering – adopted strict new standards to deny terrorist access to the world financial system.
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On September 28, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1373 that requires all nations to keep their financial systems free of terrorist funds.