TERRORIST FINANCE: MFA REQUESTS MORE BACKGROUND

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002034

SIPDIS

TREASURY FOR OFAC AND FINCEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2015
TAGS: EFIN PTER KTFN TU
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: MFA REQUESTS MORE BACKGROUND
INFORMATION FOR COURT CHALLENGES TO ASSET FREEZES


Classified By: Robert S. Deutsch for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

THIS IS AN ACTION REQUEST, SEE PARAGRAPH 4.


1. (C) Summary: The asset freezes of Nasreddin Group Holding
and Yasin Al-Qadi are currently being challenged in Turkey's
highest administrative court. MFA officials requested more
background information on these UN 1267 Committee designees
to help support the GOT's case. A court ruling in favor of
Nasreddin and Yasin Al-Qadi could serve as a major setback
for the GOT's already weak counter-terror finance regime and
a bad international precedent for terror finance asset
freezes. End Summary.


2. (SBU) MFA Intelligence and Research Department Head Ahmet
Arda and First Secretary Togan Oral told econoffs that since
their government began receiving lists for UN 1267 Committee
designations, there have been three cases in which the GOT
identified and froze the assets in Turkey of individuals
and/or entities associated with or connected to Usama bin
Laden (UBL),Al Qaida (AQ),and/or the Taliban. Two of these
cases are currently being challenged in court.


3. (C) Nasreddin Group Holding and another UN-designated
individual, Yasin Al-Qadi, filed for an injunction with the
GOT's highest administrative court to stop the administrative
freezing of their assets, which they claimed was
unconstitutional. The court cases are still undecided. MFA
officials told econoffs that in cases such as these, where
the GOT freezes assets of individuals or entities solely on
the basis of complying with UN Security Council Resolutions
and the UN 1267 Committee, the GOT needs more background
information on the individual or entity, preferably in a form
that meets a judicial evidentiary standard, to build and
support its cases in court. Though the GOT is arguing that
UN Security Council resolutions carry the force of law in
Turkey, there is a risk that a Turkish court will deem this
legal basis insufficient under the Turkish Constitution to
indefinitely freeze individuals, assets. It is precisely
because of the danger of such a legal interpretation that the
GOT is working to tighten up the legal basis of its
anti-terror finance regime, albeit at a glacial pace.


4. (C) The MFA is turning to us as it understands that the
1267 listings of Nasreddin and Al-Qadi were proposed by the
United States. They have also approached the United Nations
Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) staff in New York for
additional information, which, the Turks said referred them
to the United States.


5. (C) Comment: If the courts decide in favor of Nasreddin
and Al-Qadi, it would be a major setback for the GOT's
already weak counter-terror finance regime in which the GOT
now only has the legal authority to freeze assets of
UN-designated individuals or entities associated with
terrorist financing. GOT authorities' ability to freeze
assets could be hampered if the courts set a new precedent
and decide that the freezing of Nasreddin's and Al-Qadi's
assets were unconstitutional. It would also call in question
Turkey's ability to comply with UN resolutions. Given that
the typical "statement of case" does not provide the kind of
evidence needed for court cases, and given Turkish courts'
track records in other spheres, Post recommends Washington do
what it can to provide the Turkish MFA with evidence for the
designations. End Comment.
EDELMAN