TERRORIST FINANCE ISSUES IN COLOMBIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 004060

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2014
TAGS: EFIN ETTC PREL PTER CO EUN
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE ISSUES IN COLOMBIA

REF: 04 STATE 12958


1. (C) The complex relationship between drug traffickers,
money launderers and terrorists led the Government of
Colombia (GOC) to take a broad, multifaceted and
multi-institutional approach to combating illicit finance.
Colombia has worked extensively with the USG to find,
investigate and freeze assets of terrorists; however, post
has identified specific areas for improvement.

THE CURRENT SITUATION - GOC


2. (C) Colombia has several organizations designated as
"Foreign Terrorist Organizations" under US law. However, due
to Colombian laws, banks in Colombia cannot freeze accounts
on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of
specially designated nationals and blocked persons. Banks
only have the authority to close accounts and return funds or
to refuse business altogether. The Prosecutor General's
Office (Fiscala) is the only entity with the authority to
freeze accounts through judicial process. The Fiscala has
been helpful in working with the USG to investigate
suspicious accounts; however, the results have been limited.
Since 1995, only 177 people have been convicted of crimes
involving illicit finances. In contrast to arrests, The GOC
seized at least USD 140 million worth of narco traffickers
and terrorist assets (money and goods) last year.

THE CURRENT SITUATION ) COLOMBIAN BANKS


3. (C) Colombian banks, particularly those in Bogota, are
helpful in closing accounts because they enjoy having a legal
seal of approval. Compliance is more difficult in smaller,
rural areas or in regional banks, which may have paramilitary
and guerrilla sympathizers within them. In those
institutions, sympathizers or personnel under pressure from
terrorist organizations quietly transfer funds to inactive
accounts. Bank personnel in these areas also encounter more
direct threats from terrorist organizations. This makes
simply turning over required information to authorities a
risk to their lives. Efforts to retrieve information and
close suspected accounts will be more successful as greater
government rule is established in all areas of the country.

AREAS OF CONCERN


4. (SBU) Colombia's steps to fight terrorist financing have
been commendable, but more can be done. USG representatives
in Colombia have identified specific areas of concern:


A. (C) INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATION -- Post has a bi-weekly
terrorism finance meeting that brings together the different
agencies dealing with illicit financing. We are establishing
a mechanism that will allow for information sharing and the
storage of information in a further central embassy location.
To create institutional memory and a broad base of Colombian
contacts, the Defense Attache's Office (DAO) has created a
permanent, Intelligence Officer position to act as a point of
contact between USG and Colombian agencies. This officer
will act not only as a facilitator between the Embassy and
the GOC, but also between the Embassy and other governments
working on illicit finances.


B. (C) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMUNICATION -- The GOC has been
helpful in working with USG agencies. We are working to make
a more efficient framework for intergovernmental
investigations and analysis. Differences between entities
within the GOC that focus on intelligence (the military) and
those that depend upon confiscated evidence for prosecution
(law enforcement) limit communication. Greater communication
between the USG and the GOC would push GOC entities to
communicate more. In addition to greater communication, a
greater physical presence might also be possible. The
director of UIAF (the GOC financial crimes unit) said to
emboffs that he would be willing to have a USG official
detailed to his office to help with investigations. The GOC
is willing to provide more information if USG officials are
willing to take a larger role. A step in this direction
could also lead to greater cooperation with GOC's
Inter-institutional Committee to Combat Terrorist Finances, a
group bringing together the national prosecutor's office,
military intelligence and the judicial police. Closer work
with both UIAF and the Inter-institutional Committee would
benefit Colombian and USG work to combat illicit finance. A
consistent, daily dialogue with the GOC would improve
information sharing.


C. (C) BROADENING THE SCOPE -- Terrorist financing is part
of the bigger illicit financing issue in Colombia. Fighting
terrorism in Colombia goes hand in hand with fighting drugs,
corruption, extortion, fraud and money laundering. Every
aspect of the Colombian economy and society is affected by
illicit financing. Investigating and seizing assets of
narco-traffickers is a crucial tool for fighting narco-
terrorism. No definitive line can be drawn to separate
terrorist issues from drug issues, including in the financing
realm. The Embassy is continuing to work on developing more
operational intelligence. Our regular Embassy Anti-Terrorism
Finance Committee Meetings have improved coordination among
agencies at post and greater information sharing.


5. (SBU) The amount of data that the GOC must analyze to
make a case against suspected terrorists and the difficulty
it has in collecting data in rural areas makes it
exceptionally difficult to find, investigate, and prosecute
terrorists. Terrorist organizations in Colombia use
sophisticated techniques to hide money and to intimidate
those who refuse to cooperate with them, further complicating
the work of finding illicit funds. Compared to its
neighbors, Colombia's system to investigate financial crimes
is advanced. But still is inadequate to the task it faces.
USG involvement to date has helped the GOC achieve results,
but more substantial involvement will show even greater gains.

WOOD