JORDAN RESPONDS TO BANK RECORDS REQUEST, INDICATES

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006427

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA, CA, S/CT, AND L/LEI
DOJ FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION/OIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2012
TAGS: PREL CJAN PTER US JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN RESPONDS TO BANK RECORDS REQUEST, INDICATES
INTENT TO SIGN TERRORISM FINANCING CONVENTION

REF: A. STATE 162967


B. STATE 166372

C. AMMAN 5838

D. AMMAN 6182

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Over the past two months, Embassy Officers have
heard from a variety of GOJ officials increased willingness
to cooperate on U.S. legal assistance requests. For example,
Justice Minister Nabulsi told the Charge, Legatt, and
PolCouns September 15 that the Justice Ministry supported
providing to the U.S. the bank records requested in refs a
and b to be used in U.S. criminal investigations. Prime
Minister Ali Abul Ragheb told the Ambassador October 5 that
Jordan's new, post-9/11 counterterrorism legislation gave
Jordan the legal authority to demand those records from
commercial banks (ref c).


2. (C) Finance Ministry and Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ)
officials have also stressed their preparedness to work with
us to facilitate exchanges of financial information. Deputy
CBJ Governor Ahmed Mustafa told EconCouns October 23 that the
bank was ready to cooperate with us on a practical basis in
all such matters and that the Bank had the necessary
authorities to act quickly in response to U.S. requests to
block accounts or take other action in support of criminal
investigations. In addition, Finance Ministry Secretary
General Abu Hammour told EconCouns that he has been working
with the CBJ to increase its formal authority to have access
to banking information in criminal investigations. As shown
by the CBJ's recent cooperation with a U.S. criminal
investigation into telemarketing fraud (ref d),Jordanian
financial authorities are prepared to work with us closely
even in cases where its formal authorities are ambiguous.


3. (C) Finance Ministry and Central Bank (CBJ) officials
The Director of the Foreign Minister's private office,
Ibrahim Awawdeh, passed to PolCouns October 22 a large box of
documents in response to ref a and b request for bank
records. (Post is still in the process of obtaining the
necessary authentication for those records.) Awawdeh
commented that Jordan intended to be responsive to future
U.S. requests for legal assistance whenever possible.

--------------
JORDAN TO SIGN TERRORISM FINANCING CONVENTION
--------------


4. (C) PolCouns and PolOff expressed to MFA Legal Advisor
Samer Naber October 24 sincere USG thanks for his assistance
in making sure the GOJ responded to this legal assistance
request. Naber said he had strongly recommended that the
Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) obtain and pass the requested
records. This response, he noted, is completely consistent
with the spirit of the Convention against the Financing of
Terrorism, which the GOJ is on the verge of signing. Naber
said the documents authorizing the MFA to sign the convention
are currently "on the Prime Minister's desk," and Naber said
he had "bugged his office" several times to try to speed the
signature.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


5. (C) We have been very pleased by the GOJ's swift and
voluminous response to our bank records request, and by its
willingness to cooperate with the U.S. telemarketing fraud
investigation. We hope that these positive responses
indicate a new willingness on the part of the GOJ to
cooperate in routine law enforcement assistance requests. We
expect the number of such requests to grow as the
U.S.-Jordanian financial and trade relationship expands under
the Free Trade Agreement. U.S. and Jordanian Customs are
currently negotiating a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement
(CMAA) that would provide for similar exchanges of customs
related law enforcement information. In this case, the GOJ
has been working with the model U.S. CMAA, and is seeking
only minimal modifications. We may find it useful to
consider the possibility of formalizing legal cooperation
through negotiation of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty
(MLAT).
GNEHM