Terrorism financing has many faces and is big business in many parts of the world.
The average American can easily underestimate the vast size and scope of the problem when only the higher profile names tend to make the nightly news.
One has to read deep into, and link together, multiple DEA press releases, U.S. Treasury actions, and federal indictments to see the full extent and scope of this heinous financial underworld.
It’s a toxic mix of drugs, money, and global terrorists whose lifeblood is laundered cash. For instance, rogue governments like Syria have been sued by American victims for their involvement and support of Hizballah’s murder of U.S. Diplomat Tim Foley and beheadings of Americans (among other terrible deeds).
Syria keeps company with other rogue nations like Iran, who also attempt to transmit and support their version of evil and anarchy around the world.
In order to accomplish this, they utilize a maze of front companies and individuals to deal in drugs, illegal diamonds trading, illegal arms trafficking, and even used cars and real estate sales.
Fortunately, the U.S. government has recognized that severe financial sanctions and penalties do work.
For example, take the recent successful Syria sanctions (similar to what brought Libya’s Qaddafi to the table a few years back); where the U.S. quickly slapped sanctions and penalties on the likes of President Bashar Assad, his close family members like mogul Rami Makhlouf, and clan leader Mohammad Makhlouf.
As a result, these people have all of their assets worldwide completely frozen, they can no longer do any banking whatsoever, and they cannot travel outside the boundaries of where they are hiding. Their monies cannot be used to fund global terrorism and further oppress even their own people.
Unfortunately, the U.S. could go even further and have even greater effect if it vigorously pursued and expanded (sanctions) on all listed and referenced individuals, well known, or not.
These dangerous individuals, though lesser known, still control vast amounts of funds in a tangled web of bagmen and front companies, which support terrorism.
The United States and Europe, to a certain extent, have done a great job in combating terrorism financing. But the job is not being done fast enough. The U.S. government’s efforts are broad in scope and comprehensive, so I simply point out some recent examples from active cases, to shed light on the great work being done by various agencies.
The names and activities buried in the following public documents detail just a sample of the pervasiveness and extent of a truly global problem; they are a chilling when read in their entirety.
It’s a virtual global network, with drug dealers in Columbia, used car dealers in America, runners in West Africa, bankers in Beirut, opium-producing Taliban in Afghanistan, and more, of individuals and businesses diverting cash in order to fund terrorism:
* Press release by the U.S. Department of Treasury-12/9/2010 (Treasury targets Hizballah Network, names Tajideen brothers as Hizballah fundraisers and more>
* Press releases by the Drug Enforcement Administration here, here and here.
* Criminal Indictment filed on 11/3/2011 in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia-Alexandria Division. USA V. Ayman Joumaa/AKA”Junior”. Criminal NO. 1:11-CR-560.
* Civil Complaint filed on 12/15/2011 in the Southern District of New York. USA V. Lebanese Canadian Bank, SAL and others. Complaint NO. 11 CIV 9186.
When reading these documents, I can appreciate concerns regarding the slow speed, in which our government is proceeding with its complicated work to eliminate terrorism financing.
For example, it took several U.S. agencies operating on four continents for nearly five years, to identify and either criminally indict or file a civil case against certain individuals like Ossama Salhab (named in the civil complaint) and Ayman Joumaa (named in the criminal complaint) and their related entities. In the meantime, Americans were killed and tortured.
Compare that with the lightning speed (less than 6 months), it took our government and ultimately Europe and Arab League members, to impose severe sanctions and penalties (No travel visas, no banking, and no business activities are allowed) on Syrian officials and their business accomplices. It suggests that even faster actions are required from the U.S. government regarding individuals like those mentioned in the linked documents above.
Even so, I am told our government is very active on these and other cases, and by the time agencies like the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) and other federal agencies are done with their investigations and analysis in cooperation with European and other police and intelligence agencies in other countries, these cases will come to closure.
It also appears that individuals who are merely mentioned, for now, in the civil complaint and agency press releases like Kassem Tajeddine, his brother Ali Tajeddine, and Oussama Salhab, will similarly be dealt with swiftly as were the Rami Makhlouf’s of the world.
After all, both Tajeddine brothers are already on OFAC’s Specially Designated National (SDN) list because of the conglomerate (see U.S. treasury press release 12/9/2010 listed above) they built in support of terrorism from Angola and other African countries to Belgium and Lebanon. They are being investigated in many countries for alleged terrorism financing and other crimes.
Terrorism is very sophisticated and complex. You must look deeper into these federal indictments and agency press releases, while government has to proceed, with all due haste, against all of those on the Special Designated Nationals (SDN) lists, not just a few.
Robert Marcellus is a Virginia-based writer on global economic and financial issues.
