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