EMBASSY MANAMA - TFCO RESPONSE

UNCLAS MANAMA 001495 SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT, INL/C, IO/PHO, NEA/ARPI TREASURY FOR JZARATE, DGLASER, OFAC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: BA ECON EFIN ETTC PREL PTER KTFN SUBJECT: EMBASSY MANAMA - TFCO RESPONSE REF: (A) STATE 201391 (B) ROME 02381 1.(U) Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM),Susan Ziadeh, will serve as the TFCO and Political/Economic Chief Steve Bondy will serve as the Deputy TFCO. In addition the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury recently established its Regional Counter Terrorism Attache (RCTA),Jason Beal, at Embassy Manama. While his responsibilities are regional he will assist the TFCO and the Post in its mission to combat the financing of terrorism in Bahrain. Responses below are keyed to Ref A questions. ¶2. (U) a. The TFCO contact information is as follows: TFCO Susan Ziadeh DCM 973-1724-2773 ZiadehSL@state.gov ZiadehSL@state.sgov.gov Deputy TFCO Steve Bondy Pol/Econ Chief 973-1724-2908 BondySC@state.gov BondySC@state.sgov.gov OFAC Regional Counter Terrorism Attach Jason Beal OFAC Attach 973-1724-2709 bealj@state.gov bealjr@state.sgov.gov b. The TFCO will chair monthly combating terrorism financing meetings in conjunction with the Visa Viper meetings. A representative from Pol/Econ, Regional Security, Consular, and the OFAC-RCTA (Treasury) will attend the meetings. c. The meetings will initially focus on drafting a baseline report on host country,s compliance with international standards and implementation of those standards (similar to Ref B). The TFCO team will also set priorities in combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) for the next year including working with the local financial intelligence unit (FIU) to develop leads. The TFCO team will also work with the GOB to identify problem areas in CFT and provide guidance and assistance if necessary to resolve outstanding issues. We will seek training support for GOB from Washington when appropriate. d. For regional cooperation Embassy Manama is in the fortunate position of hosting the OFAC-RCTA. In his regional role the OFAC-RCTA will develop contacts with the TFCOs in the NEA region, including periodic visits. The OFAC-RCTA, with assistance from posts in the region, will develop evidentiary packages for possible designations of terrorists, terrorist groups and their support networks. These designation proposals will be submitted to the Policy Coordination Committee on Terrorism Financing for approval and action. e. To promote public awareness, the TFCO Team will work to advance the new regional anti-money laundering body - the Middle East-North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENA-FATF) headquartered in Manama, Bahrain. This body will promote international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). MENA-FATF will complete "mutual evaluations" of its members on the international AML/CFT standards. The OFAC RCTA will encourage regional Finance Ministry contacts to support this new regional organization - its inaugural meeting will take place November 29-30 in Manama, Bahrain. Post has also been distributing the "Rewards for Justice" cards and matchbooks. The Embassy will post on its website links to the OFAC site and any recent actions. f. The TFCO and Deputy have not received CFT training from FSI or elsewhere. g. Post has no requests from Washington at this time. ZIADEH