TERRORISM FINANCE: 2005 UPDATE NO.2: AUSTRIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 001075 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EB/ESC/TFS (DNELSON),S/CT (TKUSHNER),IO/PSC (JSCHWEITZER),EB/EPPD (CTHOMPSON),AND EUR/AGS PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY (JZARATE) AND OFAC (RWERNER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2015 TAGS: KTFN KVPR EFIN PTER ETTC PREL CVIS AU SUBJECT: TERRORISM FINANCE: 2005 UPDATE NO.2: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE REF: STATE 32688 Classified By: ECONOMIC-POLITICAL COUNSELOR GREGORY E. PHILLIPS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Following is keyed to information requested in reftel: A) Amount of assets frozen, forfeited or seized by host government pursuant to UNSCR Resolutions 1267 and 1373; the legal authority under which the action was taken; and what additional domestic actions have been taken against the designated parties: --Austrian authorities have not frozen, forfeited, or seized any assets pursuant to UNSCR 1337. Authorities have frozen minor amounts pursuant to UNSCR 1267, but because police are still investigating several of these cases, our GoA contacts would not provide exact figures. --The EU Council has transposed both UNSCR 1267 and UNSCR 1373 into regulations, so both are directly and immediately applicable to the GoA, as well as Austrian entities and citizens. B) What impediments exist for more robust cooperation with your host government on co-sponsoring designations? --We do not see any impediments for a more robust cooperation. The GoA has been very responsive to all our requests and extremely cooperative with USG agencies on terrorist financing issues. C) Is your host government willing to accept USG training and technical assistance, including an assessment of training needs? In your view, what are your host government's priority training and technical assistance needs with regard to the development and/or enhancement of their anti-terrorist financing regimes in general and their sanctions program in particular? --Austria is a highly developed country, which uses state-of-the-art technology to fight crime, including terrorist financing. GoA personnel in this field are very competent. We believe the USG should keep appropriate GoA officials aware of new developments in the fight against terrorist financing. However, we believe any USG training should be well-targeted and specific, rather than across-the-board. --One area where Austria might benefit from USG or third-country experience is better vetting, control and monitoring of non-profit organizations. D) How would you rank your host country in terms of risk that it will be used as a site either for significant fund raising or for significant banking services for terrorists ("High," "Medium," or "Low")? --We believe there is a medium risk that terrorists would use Austria as a site for significant fund raising. The GoA has implemented a comprehensive set of regulations against terrorism financing. The Criminal Code contains a category entitled "Financing Terrorism," which foresees a prison sentence of 6 months to five years. Nevertheless, Austria has loose regulations on the approximately 100,000 charities and other non-profit organizations, including religious associations, registered in Austria. There are no regular or routine checks on non-profit organizations after they register. These entities could be vulnerable to misuse by criminal and terrorist organizations and their supporters. --We believe there is a medium risk that terrorists would use Austrian banking services to transfer funds. The GoA tightened provisions against terrorism by implementing the FATF Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing, and by amending the Banking Act, Criminal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Gambling Act, Law on Attorneys, Law on Notaries, and the Commercial Code. However, Austria's banking system, like the financial system of any developed nation, could be attractive for terrorist organizations to effect financial transfers. Brown