Cablegate: U.S. Treasury Provides Financial Investigation

VZCZCXYZ0016
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #2019 3101441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061441Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 8679
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4502
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 5281
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 8224
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 4996
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6604
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002019

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR NEA/IPA AND EEB/ESC; TREASURY FOR COREA/PARODI/GRANT;
AMMAN FOR PARKER; CAIRO FOR ROWE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIN KTFN KWBG EAID KCRM
SUBJECT: U.S. TREASURY PROVIDES FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION
TRAINING TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA) POLICE

REF: A. JERUSALEM 1205
B. JERUSALEM 1384

1. (SBU) Summary: During the week of November 1, U.S.
Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) provided
training to 34 Palestinian Authority (PA) employees with
various responsibilities under the PA's 2007 Anti-Money
Laundering (AML) decree. This was the third training course
on AML offered by OTA in Ramallah since July. Several PA
officials attended the opening and closing ceremonies to
express their appreciation for Treasury training and to
underscore the PA's committment to combating economic crimes.
End Summary.

2. (SBU) U.S. Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance
(OTA) provided training to 34 PA employees with various
responsibilities under the PA's 2007 AML decree at the
request of Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor Jihad
al-Wazir on November 1-5. Participants in the Financial
Investigative Techniques Course (FIT) in Ramallah included
representatives of the PA Civil Police, PA Attorney General's
Office, PA Customs, the Preventive Security Organization
(PSO), and the General Intelligence (GI, also known as the
Muchabarat).

3. (SBU) This was the third training course offered by OTA
since July 2009 (reftel). U.S.- and Jordan-based OTA
advisors provided training in Ramallah to PA employees
responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial
crimes. Participants primarily consisted of police officiers
from the newly-formed Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption
Division (ECAC) of the PA Civil Police. The police were
joined by investigators from the PSO, GI, and Customs, as
well as prosecutors from the Attorney General's office. Due
to high demand from participating agencies, this was the
second offering of the FIT course in Ramallah. The first
offering in July was attended primarily by prosecutors from
the ECAC division of the PA Attorney General's Office.

4. (SBU) The week-long course focused on conducting
investigations of moderate-to-complex financial crimes, such
as commercial fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Topics
included interviewing; financial profiling and indirect
methods of proving income; collecting, analyzing and
presenting financial evidence; case planning and managment;
report writing; evaluating sources of information; and asset
forfeiture. Funding for the workshop was provided from
Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA)
funds.

5. (SBU) Several local experts augmented lectures and
practical exercises led by the three OTA advisors. Financial
Follow-up Unit Director Riyad Aweidah provided an overview of
the function and operation of the PA's Financial Intelligence
Unit, and FFU Analyst Firas Murar described various sources
of financial information that can be obtained by
investigators. Chief Prosecutor Salim Jarrar gave an
overview of the PA's evidentiary standards and discussed
current PA anti-corruption efforts and authorities. Arab
Bank Retail Manager Jamal Hurani presented on banking
"back-room" operations and internal procedures used to
identify suspicious transactions. Participants in the
training were attentive to lectures and engaged in lively
discussions during Q & A sessions.

6. (SBU) The training course began on November 1 with remarks
from PMA Governor Al-Wazir and PA Attorney General Ahmad
al-Moughani. At the closing of the ceremony, recipients were
given certificates of completion and heard remarks by PA
Civil Police Brigadier General Jaber Asfor, PA Attorney
General al-Moughani and Jerusalem RSO Tim Laas. In his
remarks, Attorney General al-Moughani said that the PA needed
to do more in the future to improve enforcement against
corruption and economic crimes, in line with the United
Nations agreement to combat corruption and financial crimes,
which the PA would join in late November in Qatar.

RUBINSTEIN

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