HAMAS OPENS OFFICES IN TUNISIA

Hamas leadership in Tunisia.

A Tunisian news outlet, Al-Bilad, has reportedly announced that Hamas has opened offices in the country's capital, Tunis. Inasmuch as the Hamas "headquarters" in Turkey has been used to finance terrorist acts, both in the West Bank and in Europe, and to recruit and arm terrorists, it is reasonable to expect that the Tunis office, referred to as a headquarters, will not function as a diplomatic post.

This is extremely disturbing, for Tunisia, which has been the site of terrorist attacks that took a huge hit out of the country's precious tourist industry, does not need to facilitate the actions of a specially designated terrorist organization. There could also be assassination attempts made upon senior Hamas terrorists; this has occurred several times in the Middle East, and one wonders whether the Government of Tunisia has considered that Hams could be targeted in Tunis.

From a compliance standpoint, it raises risk levels for American banks whose clients include exporters to Tunisia, especially dual-use goods, which could easily be ordered by front companies, and delivered to Hamas, for further shipment. Also, there are other countries that have sanctioned Hamas, and compliance officers at banks in those nations should also pay close attention to what their clients send to Tunisia.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT REVERSES $655m JUDGMENT AGAINST PA AND PLO ON JURISDICTIONAL GROUNDS

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 61-page opinion, has reversed the District Court's $655.5m judgment, entered against the Palestinian Authority, and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The suit, which was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, asserted that the two defendant entities were liable, for a number of terror attacks, in Israel, that killed or wounded US citizens.

The jury verdict, $218.5, was automatically trebled, pursuant to the Act. on appeal, the defendants argued that the Court lacked personal jurisdiction over them. The appeals court found

"In sum, because the terror attacks in Israel at issue here were not expressly aimed at the United States,    and because the deaths and injuries suffered by the American plaintiffs in these attacks  were 'random and fortuitous,' and because lobbying activities, regarding American policy  toward israel are insufficiently 'suit-related conduct' to support specific jurisdiction over these  defendants. Walden, S. Ct. at 1121, 1123." [opinion at 60].

The Second Circuit vacated the judgment of the District Court, and remanded, with instructions to dismiss the case, for lack of personal jurisdiction.  The plaitiffs' counsel has indicated that they will appeal; whether this will be a request for an En Banc hearing, or a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, presented to the US Supreme Court, was not disclosed.

Readers who wish to review the complete text of the decision, may access it on the Second Circuit website here.

US TREASURY AND THREE REGULATORY AGENCIES PUBLISH JOINT FACT SHEET

The Treasury Department, along with the OCC,. NCUA, FDIC,, and the FRS, have today published their Joint Fact Sheet on Foreign Correspondent Banking, Approach to BSA/AML and OFAC Sanctions Supervision and Enforcement. Readers are urged to read and retain a copy of this document, as it summarizes the official US Government position on a number of important subjects, including what the agencies expect of US depository institutions, on a number of topics.

You can access the complete text here.

CAYMAN GANG OF FOUR FRAUDSTERS LAMB AND BATEMAN UNABLE TO OPEN ACCOUNTS OVERSEAS

Sharon Lexa Lamb, Ryan Bateman, Derek Buntain

Financial investigators who are tracking the flow of millions of dollars stolen by the Cayman Gang of Four have reported that two Gang crew members, Ryan Bateman and Sharon Lexa Lamb, have been turned away, when they sought to open bank accounts in a number of countries. Apparently, the Gang is seeking to spread out their illicit fortune in several countries, including some of the principal offshore financial centers, to lessen the risk that their stash will be found, and seized, by the authorities. Their efforts, more often than not, have resulted in accounts declined.

Most compliance officers, when conducting even the most rudimentary due diligence searches of Bateman and Lamb, will find so many "red flags," or indicia of criminal activity, that accepting these two fraudsters as clients is simply too dangerous to onboard them.

One of the methods through which they are seeking to gain access to an account is to engage a local law firm, and have the firm, using a corporation that it forms on their behalf, but the new trend, for the banks to require all lawyers to disclose the name of the beneficial owner/client, has made this ploy no longer effective.

As for the other two Gang members, Derek Buntain, he is laying low in his native Canada, although he is reportedly under investigation by Canadian law enforcement; Fernando Mendez is still living in the Cayman Islands, seemingly confident in that fact that the principal local law enforcement agency, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, will not arrest him, reportedly to keep the negative press about the $450m Cayman Gang of Four scandal to a minimum.

Whether the newly-arrived police leadership will allow the agency's one year on-again-off-again investigation into the Cayman Gang of Four theft to quietly expire, or will move it forward, could affect how foreign investors treat the Cayman Islands in the future. Will the "financial pirates" that are the Cayman Gang of Four meet justice, or will they escape, scot-free ?

                                                  Financial Pirates of Cayman Islands

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS AN "ANTI SEMITE" ORGANISATION

INACCURATE FACTUAL PRESENTATION, BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, OF ARREST OF HAMAS MEMBER IN WORLD VISION CASE 

A fair reading of the statement released this week by Amnesty International, regarding the terrorism financing charges, brought in Israel, against World Vision Gaza manager, Mohammed Al-Halabi, shows a slanted, and factually inaccurate, picture of the case, and gives the reader grounds to examine Amnesty's other presentations, for accuracy.

I understand that the statement was prepared by Amnesty's Middle East branch, but what began as a critique of the Halabi arrest degenerated into a policy statement of matters not relevant to the case. The article, which appears on Amnesty's website, says:

(1) The trial will be "secret," while in truth and in fact, it will be closed to the public, as it will surely contain classified information about Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.

(2) It refers to Gaza as "occupied,; although Israel withdrew from Gaza several years ago.

(3) It states that Halabi did not have access to the amount of money that he is alleged to have diverted to members of Hamas, from the donations of World Vision, a Christian charity, but it does not supply the factual basis for that conclusion.

(4) it complains that Halabi's atttorney will not be able to publicly share information, but fails to consider that the evidence could have come from sources in Gaza who could be killed, if Hamas thereby learns their identity.

If this article, which verges on propaganda, and appears to seek to enrage the reader against Israel, rather than treat Halabi as a person who allegedly stole millions intended for the needy in Gaza, is typical of Amnesty's treatment of issues, then compliance officers may want to take all their other material with a grain of salt, and confirm any information they extract from Amnesty articles, through another source.

US BORDER PATROL SEIZES $3m+ FROM SOUTHBOUND BULK CASH SMUGGLERS IN SAN DIEGO

The money seized

The United States Border Patrol reports that it detained two individuals, in the San Diego area, traveling together southbound, in two vehicles. Seized was a total of $3,033,880 . It is the largest cash seizure, of record, in the area. In August, $2.3m was seized from a home in Anaheim, California.

Bulk cash smugglers, seeking to repatriate drug profits to Mexico and Colombia, had $382m seized, by US law enforcement, in 2014; the money was taken in over 4000 bulk cash seizures. Not all the dollars are destined for Mexico. however.

Some of the funds are destined for the Los Angeles area, where they are exchanged for gold or diamonds, which are then smuggled into Mexico, and exchanged for Pesos, and delivered to the Cartels. Through this technique, the Cartels avoid having to exchange the US Dollars for Pesos.

CAYMAN ISLANDS MONETARY AUTHORITY (CIMA) REFUSE TO REPORT ON FINANCIAL CRIMES - "WARNING ALERT"

CIMA INCREASES INTERNAL SECURITY TO PREVENT LEAKS TO MEDIA

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, more commonly known as CIMA, has reportedly increased internal security measures within the agency, allegedly to prevent the disclosure of confidential information to the press, and the public at large. It is thought that these new procedures were implemented as the result of the currently pending billion dollar civil suit, involving Middle Eastern parties, where massive fraud has been alleged, but this is unconfirmed;  That action is now on trial.

What we are hearing is that sources within CIMA are no longer freely sharing information with trusted confidantes, and that media access has been reduced. A close look at Cayman media stories, where CIMA is named or involved, shows that coverage appears to have diminished of late. Friends of CIMA officers also report hearing less small talk about Cayman Islands financial matters from their contacts.

Investors, and businessmen, not residing in the Cayman Islands, depend upon the domestic Cayman press for information related to risk, and coverage of financial crime, regulatory violations, and criminal cases involving Cayman entities, is vital for this purpose. When a government agency deliberately seeks to become even more opaque, and succeeds in suppressing the free flow of information to the media, and the public, risk levels cannot be accurately accessed, and losses may more easily occur. 

Posted by Kenneth Rijock at Monday, August 29, 2016