US says Saudi individuals still funding terrorism
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia must do a better job at ferreting out major individual donors who continue to fund terrorism abroad, including in Iraq, a top U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.
Stuart Levey, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Saudi Arabia had made significant strides in counterterrorism efforts in recent years and that the kingdom was "doing an excellent job" fighting operatives of
Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network at home.
But he told a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee that concerns remained, including the existence of so-called "deep-pocket donors" and the abuse of charities to fund militants.
"Is money leaving Saudi Arabia to fund terrorism abroad? Yes," said Levey, who has traveled to Saudi Arabia twice in the last two months. "Undoubtedly, some of that money is going to Iraq. And it's going to Southeast Asia and it's going to any other place where there are terrorists."
He said Saudi Arabia had taken steps to curb terrorism financing, but had failed to set up a special charity commission to regulate the sector, as it had pledged. He said rules implemented as a stop-gap measure in the interim "haven't been uniformly implemented."
Levey said Saudi Arabia's fledgling Financial Intelligence Unit, set up last year after much prodding from the United States, was still not fully functional.
Financial Intelligence Units are government agencies that collect, analyze and exchange financial information to help fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
"What needs to happen is they need to do financial investigations in a serious way in order to locate those deep-pocket donors that are still funding terrorism abroad. And that's something which is a concern that hasn't happened as robustly as it needs to happen," Levey said.
Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, asked whether there was a gap between Saudi government rhetoric and the implementation of policy.
Levey replied: "I've got to say that there's a lag. ... And we'll see if there's a gap."
Stuart Levey, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Saudi Arabia had made significant strides in counterterrorism efforts in recent years and that the kingdom was "doing an excellent job" fighting operatives of
Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network at home.
But he told a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee that concerns remained, including the existence of so-called "deep-pocket donors" and the abuse of charities to fund militants.
"Is money leaving Saudi Arabia to fund terrorism abroad? Yes," said Levey, who has traveled to Saudi Arabia twice in the last two months. "Undoubtedly, some of that money is going to Iraq. And it's going to Southeast Asia and it's going to any other place where there are terrorists."
He said Saudi Arabia had taken steps to curb terrorism financing, but had failed to set up a special charity commission to regulate the sector, as it had pledged. He said rules implemented as a stop-gap measure in the interim "haven't been uniformly implemented."
Levey said Saudi Arabia's fledgling Financial Intelligence Unit, set up last year after much prodding from the United States, was still not fully functional.
Financial Intelligence Units are government agencies that collect, analyze and exchange financial information to help fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
"What needs to happen is they need to do financial investigations in a serious way in order to locate those deep-pocket donors that are still funding terrorism abroad. And that's something which is a concern that hasn't happened as robustly as it needs to happen," Levey said.
Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, asked whether there was a gap between Saudi government rhetoric and the implementation of policy.
Levey replied: "I've got to say that there's a lag. ... And we'll see if there's a gap."
posted by Marko at 4/05/2006 08:07:00 AM
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