MEHLIS REPORT FINANCING DEMARCHE: TURKEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 007136

SIPDIS

TREASURY PASS FINCEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2010
TAGS: ETTC KTFN EFIN SY TU
SUBJECT: MEHLIS REPORT FINANCING DEMARCHE: TURKEY

REF: A. STATE 214622


B. DAMASCUS 6224

Classified By: Economic Counselor Thomas Goldberger for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).


1. (C) Turkey is a likely refuge for Syrians implicated in
the Mehlis report to try to hide their assets. Econcouns met
separately with MFA DDG for Security Huseyin Bicakli and,
Genc Osman Yarasli, President of MASAK, Turkey's FIU, to
deliver reftel demarche. In both meetings, EconCouns
discussed the danger of Mehlis report-named Syrian officials
moving their money in anticipation of possible UN sanctions
and describved how the U.S. had alerted our financial
institutions. Bicakli and Yarasli seemed to take the point
and undertook to be on the lookout for suspicious movements
of funds. Yarasli said MASAK would search for the Syrian
names in the suspicious transaction reports MASAK receives
from financial institutions.


2. (C) Separately, over the past year Amcon Adana has heard
several unconfirmed reports of transactions of hundreds of
millions of dollars each that are passed through foreign
exchange bureaus in Gaziantep, with the funds coming from
Syria. Post has no way of knowing whether the individuals
listed in ref a) are involved with these transactions.


WILSON