Turkish Police Create Anti-Terror Finance Unit

UNCLAS ANKARA 000250 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS TREAS for OFAC (RWERNER),FINCEN (MMELANCON),EOTFFC (POBRIEN) and (RLEBENSON, JSERAFINI),OIA (JGARDNER) and/or (MLEAVITT) JUSTICE FOR OPDAT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN PTER KTFN TU SUBJECT: Turkish Police Create Anti-Terror Finance Unit ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Turkish National Police (TNP) Intelligence Department recently established a terrorism finance division, to be housed under the Intelligence Department's organized crime group. Recep Guven, TNP Intelligence Department Chief of Section in the Organized Crime Division and a former International Visitor Program (IVP) participant, will lead the new division, which will take the lead in coordinating TNP's terrorism finance fieldwork and cooperation with other agencies. Guven's participation in U.S.-sponsored programs with officials of MASAK, Turkey's anti-financial crime agency, has already led to increased collaboration between these two organizations, whose lack of cooperation had previously handicapped Turkey's fight against terror finance. -------------- TNP ESTABLISHES TERRORISM FINANCING DIVISION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Guven told us the new division would be responsible for coordinating the TNP's overall approach to terrorism finance. TNP is still working on finalizing the legal structure of the new division, but Guven confirmed that it will fall under the organized crime group and will carry out terrorism finance field work. It will also be responsible for coordinating with other anti-financial crime organizations. ¶3. (SBU) Guven participated in the International Visitor Program (IVP) in June 2004, visiting Washington and New York as part of a sub-regional "Terrorism Financing Issues" project. He told us that the creation of the new division was a direct result of his IVP participation - upon his return, he reported on the U.S. anti-terrorism finance regime and recommended that TNP establish its own terrorism finance section. The TNP heeded his recommendation and made him the chief of the new division. -------------- INCREASED COOPERATION BETWEEN TNP AND MASAK -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Guven also told us about increased cooperation between TNP and MASAK as a result of his attending a US-OSCE- sponsored terrorism financing conference in Vienna in November with Genc Osman Yarasli, the head of MASAK. Though Yarasli has denied that there were problems with interagency coordination on financial crime issues, Guven confirmed other what other contacts have told us: that the relationship between the two agencies was characterized by a lack of coordination and cooperation. Guven said that since he and Yarasli established a personal relationship at the Vienna conference, there has been increased information sharing. Guven told us that MASAK and TNP are trying to institutionalize this new-found cooperation so it will continue after he and Yarasli leave their posts. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Guven is proof that USG support is paying dividends in strengthening Turkey's anti-terrorism finance regime. Guven himself spelled out this benefit and noted that he was encouraged by the creation of a counter terrorism finance division with the TNP, which was a missing element despite the fact that Turkey has been fighting terrorism for many years now. WILSON