TERRORIST FINANCING: IRELAND'S IN-HOUSE VIEWS ON

S E C R E T DUBLIN 001515 SIPDIS EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2014 TAGS: PTER EFIN ECON ETTC KTFN SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCING: IRELAND'S IN-HOUSE VIEWS ON DESIGNATION OF ISLAMIC AFRICAN RELIEF AGENCY (IARA) REF: A. SECSTATE 216187 ¶B. DUBLIN 01367 Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Mary Daly, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) Post has no objection to the domestic US designation of Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA) for asset freezing under E.O. 13224. There is no known current activity of IARA in Ireland, but until recently, questionable activities were conducted under the name of the Islamic Relief Agency-Dublin (ISRA-Dublin). Irish police and RMAS are investigating the activities of this group and key individuals and due diligence requires that continued attention remain on fund-raising activities in Ireland. -------------- Limits of the Gardai -------------- ¶2. (S) The Gardai (Irish National Police Force) are investigating the Islamic Foundation of Ireland. The mosque, on 163 South Circular Road is known to be frequented by nefarious individuals, including Mujahideen from Afghanistan and Bosnia. There is little the Gardai can do beyond surveillance, even in cases of suspected terrorism financing. Currently, the Irish do not have effective legislation in terms of terrorism financing. The Gardai, Department of Justice and Central Bank can move to sanction and freeze assets of a group only after that group is added to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee list, and then added to the EU,s internal list. Though Gardai remain suspicious of activities at the mosque, they are limited by current civil and criminal codes (see reftel B). ¶3. (S) The GOI is likely to welcome a UN designation on this group and affiliates working in Ireland. If the designation is accepted under UN 1267, and then the EU, Ireland would likely support it. DALY