NIGERIA: IMPLEMENTING UNSCR 1333

UNCLAS ABUJA 002416 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN PREL PTER NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: IMPLEMENTING UNSCR 1333 REF: STATE 162495 Sensitive but Unclassified, please protect accordingly. ¶1. Reftel demarche was delivered September 20 to Central Bank Governor Joseph Sanusi and September 21 to Assistant Director M.K. Ibrahim of the International Organizations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Governor Sanusi, while unaware of the reporting requirements per UNSCR 1333, was supportive of the worldwide effort to prevent Usama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network from accessing their financial assets. Sanusi asked for a copy of the SCR, which Post provided. He said that the Central Bank would review the SCR and the reporting requirements. However, the CBN would need more specific information on the accounts and names of people targeted by UNSCR 1333. With this information, Sanusi averred, the CBN could send circulars to all banks in Nigeria requesting that they search for such information. ¶2. MFA Assistant Director Ibrahim also offered his support for the measures described in UNSCR 1333. While Ibrahim admitted he was familiar with UNSCR 1333 (as a result of the 1998 Embassy bombings),he doubted that the GON had taken measures to implement the resolution. Ibrahim promised he would review the SCR this weekend and write a report recommending actions the GON could take. Ibrahim commented that these terrorists very likely launder their money from drugs and arms trading. Econoff agreed and pointed out that Nigeria was a haven for money laundering and had recently been designated as a non-cooperative country by the FATF. Ibrahim replied that the GON had responded, albeit late, to the FATF questionnaire, adding that the GON "now recognized the importance of this issue to the international community". ¶3. Neither CBN Governor Sanusi nor MFA Assistant Director Ibrahim knew whether Nigeria had signed or ratified the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Ibrahim promised to find out whether the GON had signed or intended to sign the Convention. Andrews