NIGERIA: NASCO GROUP (NIGERIA) LIMITED

S E C R E T ABUJA 003030 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EB/ESC/ESP, S/CT AND AF/W E.O. 12958: DECL: 1.6X5 TAGS: PTER PREL ECON ETTC NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NASCO GROUP (NIGERIA) LIMITED REF: A)STATE 165061, B) STATE 10592, C0 ABUJA 187 CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER. REASON 1.6X5. ¶1. (S) During an October 10 conversation, Ambassador Jeter informed National Security Advisor Aliyu Mohammed that the NASCO parent company based in Turkey and many of its subsidiaries and affiliate companies have been jointly designated by the Italian and United States governments as involved in terrorist financing. The Ambassador stressed that NASCO had links to Al Queda and other known terrorist organizations, thus the basis for NASCO's designation. ¶2. (S) Ambassador Jeter told Mohammed that NASCO subsidiaries in Nigeria were not yet designated. Given the large role the NASCO group of companies plays in the economy of Plateau State this was salutary economically; moreover, the non-designation also helped Nigeria politically. However, the Ambassador emphasized the investigative process was not yet complete. If the use of any of these subsidiaries for terrorism financing were to be detected, the companies would be swiftly quickly placed on the list. Moreover, since many of the other NASCO companies were now designated, NASCO principals might try to use the non-designated companies in Nigeria to move money. Ambassador Jeter advised Mohammed that Nigeria must be extremely vigilant in watching these companies. ¶3. (S) Mohammed stated that he clearly understood the importance of this issue and would confer with the Central Bank to establish a mechanism to strictly monitor NASCO financial transactions. ¶4. (S) we plan to get back to NSA Mohammed to inquire what concrete actions have been taken and to ascertain any findings thus far. ANDREWS