News
Unfreezing Charitable Funds Tied to Terrorism Would Mean Legal Challenges: U.S. Official
By Colby Adams
printAny plans to return frozen assets to donors who unwittingly contributed the money to charities tied to terrorist organizations would likely face stiff legal resistance, a government official said Wednesday. The funds, which the government seized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), total nearly $3.2 million confiscated from six U.S.-based Muslim charities and two U.S.-based Tamil charities, according to U.S. Treasury Department data issued in April 2010. Should the government move forward with unlocking the funds, terror victims and others would likely sue for a share of the money under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, said Daniel Glaser,...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Federal regulators and law enforcement agencies are using Bank Secrecy Act data to identify financial transactions tied to Islamic State, the Sunni terrorist group operating in Syria and Iraq.
Compliance officers should monitor for the abuse of nonprofit organizations by government officials embezzling money and laundering bribes - a problem noted in recent federal investigations, according to an FBI official.
Despite a legal settlement reversing sanctions against an Ohio-based charity, most banks will view the individuals once associated with the group as too risky to take on as clients, say compliance officers.
In the years since a high-profile mistrial in the prosecution of a Texas charity, counterterrorism financing officials have shifted their focus away from nongovernmental organizations and toward individuals sending money abroad.
The European Commission sets a two month deadline for Germany to fully comply with the Third Money Laundering Directive, a secret report is leaked connecting an Islamic political group and al-Qaida, and more, in this week's roundup.
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a federal law barring "material support" of foreign terrorist groups, dismissing a lawsuit that asserted the rule was so broad that it curtailed constitutional rights of free speech and association.
Saudi terrorist financiers are increasingly relying on cash couriers to circumvent the country's anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws, according to a report by a U.S. governmental watchdog.
A recent court ruling that disallowed the freezing of an Islamic charity's assets could signal a major change in how the United States sanctions suspected terrorist financiers, say former investigators.
A network of U.S.-based rabbis used charities to wash "at least" tens of millions of dollars of dirty money in exchange for ten percent commissions, federal investigators said Thursday.
Two rulings in the case of an Ohio-based Muslim charity fighting a terrorism designation could tighten the timeframe federal prosecutors have for collecting evidence, say terrorist financing analysts.
The use of charities to evade taxes is "serious and increasing," robbing some countries of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, according to a European economic policy group.
A Muslim charity and its five directors are guilty of funneling at least $12 million to a Palestinian terror group, a jury said Monday, granting the United States a major victory in an expensive retrial.
Federal prosecutors are likely to simplify their case against a Texas-based charity facing a retrial for purportedly sending over $12 million to a Palestinian terror group, say terror finance analysts.
A program aimed at assuring donors that their donations to Muslim charities will not be handed over to terrorists is unlikely to offer any protections to banks, say terrorism consultants and former regulators.
A former U.S. Congressman took illegal payments from a Muslim charity accused of sending more than $130,000 to a terrorist with ties to al-Qaida and the Taliban, federal prosecutors say.
The head of Spinka, an Orthodox Jewish group based in New York, was charged on December 18 with money laundering and mail fraud for his role in a multimillion-dollar tax fraud case, according to court documents.
A World Bank study shows that financial institutions don't have enough resources to uncover transaction patterns for charities that would suggest links to terrorists.
Federal prosecutors failed to win a conviction against the leaders of Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, who were accused of financing terrorists.
With the leak of CIA reports and other government documents on possible terrorist ties to Saudi-based Al Rajhi Bank, regulators "will fully expect" financial institutions to modify their risk assessment of the bank, compliance professionals say.
Charities avoid detection by funneling money through intermediaries not included on government watch lists, making it more difficult for banks to identify terrorist links.