Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KUWAIT1734
2005-04-27 15:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

TREASURY DAS GETS THE COMMERCIAL VIEW ON TERRORIST

Tags:  EFIN PTER KTFN KU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001734 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

EB/ESC/TFS MSIDDIQUI, S/CT TKUSHNER, NEA/ELA DBARON
NEA/ARPI TWILLIAMS, NEA/I-ECON K. BRONSON, IO/PSC
JSCHWEITZER
NSC FOR JKEMERSON
TREASURY FOR JZARATE, OFAC RWERNER
MANAMA FOR JBEAL
TREASURY FOR DGLASER, RLEBENSON, MEPSTEIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2015
TAGS: EFIN PTER KTFN KU
SUBJECT: TREASURY DAS GETS THE COMMERCIAL VIEW ON TERRORIST
FINANCING IN KUWAIT


Classified By: DCM Matthew H Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001734

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

EB/ESC/TFS MSIDDIQUI, S/CT TKUSHNER, NEA/ELA DBARON
NEA/ARPI TWILLIAMS, NEA/I-ECON K. BRONSON, IO/PSC
JSCHWEITZER
NSC FOR JKEMERSON
TREASURY FOR JZARATE, OFAC RWERNER
MANAMA FOR JBEAL
TREASURY FOR DGLASER, RLEBENSON, MEPSTEIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2015
TAGS: EFIN PTER KTFN KU
SUBJECT: TREASURY DAS GETS THE COMMERCIAL VIEW ON TERRORIST
FINANCING IN KUWAIT


Classified By: DCM Matthew H Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) On April 16, 2005 Treasury DAS Daniel Glaser
attended a dinner hosted at the DCM's residence. Several key
members of Kuwait's commercial banking sector attended and
over the course of the evening terrorist financing and the
Central Bank's regulations to monitor banking transactions
were discussed. When asked their opinions on the Central
Bank's regulations all of the bankers responded that while
the regulations were tough and inevitably annoying, they were
fair and justified nonetheless.


2. (C) With regard to Islamic Banking, one of the banking
guests commented that Islamic Banking in Kuwait has
traditionally been run by a spectrum of ideologically
conservative to extremist Islamists who cater to the same
kind of customer. In contrast, the non-sectarian banks have
traditionally served the more moderate elements of society,
he said. The general Islamicization of Kuwaiti society has
pushed people to demand more Islamic banking products and
venues, he added, and that preachers in the mosques and
educators in the school system urge people to conduct their
business in Islamic banks. As a result of this trend, the
banking manager concluded, the non-sectarian banks have been
pushed to open their own Islamic finance departments. (Note:
Currently in Kuwait there are two Islamic banks, the Kuwait
Finance House and the new Bubiyan bank. The Kuwait Real
Estate Bank is converting into an Islamic Bank. End Note).
The bankers and DAS Glaser agreed that there is nothing about
Islamic financial products which makes them inherently more
susceptible to abuse by terrorist financiers.


3. (SBU) At the end of the evening an invitation was issued
by Mr. Ibrahim M. Ibrahim, General Manager, International
Banking Division at the Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK),to tour
the bank's Risk Management Department to see how it complies
with the Central Bank's regulations.


4. (SBU) The DAS met with Ibrahim and his Risk Management
Department on April 17 to discuss the bank's practices on
monitoring transactions. ABK uses a software package,
RiskSecure (TM),to help manage its workflow. With this
system, using parameters set by the bank, suspicious
transactions and all transactions over 3000KD (USD 10,270)
will be flagged for review by ABK's Risk Management
Department. The review must be conducted within two hours of
the transaction being flagged. As part of their "know your
customer" practices, Ibrahim explained, all new customers are
checked against four separate databases prior to the bank
allowing them to open new accounts, also through the
RiskSecure system. The databases checked against include
those maintained by: OFAC, the Kuwait Central Bank, the
United Nations and WorldCompliance (Politically Exposed
Persons).


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Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
********************************************
LEBARON