DEMARCHE DELIVERED--INVIGORATING THE CASH COURIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000482

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL XF KU KTFN
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED--INVIGORATING THE CASH COURIER
DISCUSSION AT THE FATF

REF: A. STATE 19262


B. 05 KUWAIT 5082

C. 05 KUWAIT 4741

D. 05 KUWAIT 4717

Classified By: DCM Matthew Tueller. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) On February 8, Econoff delivered ref A points to
Talal Al-Sayegh, Head of Anti-Money Laundering at the Central
Bank of Kuwait. Points were also passed to U.S. Customs
Advisor for officials at the Kuwait General Administration of
Customs (KGAC). According to Al-Sayegh, the GOK, although
not a direct FATF member, will attend the plenary as an
observer with the GCC delegation (FATF member organization).
Al-Sayegh will be accompanied by two KGAC officials, Khalid
Al-Moussa (Airport Director) and Ali Saleh (Head of
Investigations) and a representative from the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Labor (likely to be Nasser Al-Ammar--head
of Charities Oversight Office).


2. (C) Al-Sayegh was appreciative of the ref A points and
welcomed the opportunity to discuss them further with USG
interlocutors in South Africa. He also pointed out that KGAC
delegation members will be able to provide an update on the
latest GOK efforts to implement the provisions of the
MENA/FATF cash courier paper. U.S. Customs Advisor reports
that there has been no progress on fully implementing the
country's standing cash inbound policy, including the
printing of declaration forms at all entry points.


3. (C) Al-Sayegh noted that enactment of a cash outbound
declaration/disclosure policy, although under consideration
by the GOK National Committee to Combat Money Laundering and
Terrorist Financing, ultimately requires a Finance Ministry
decree authorizing the policy. Al-Sayegh also pointed out
that the Kuwait Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),despite
its administrative and legal dependency on the Public
Prosecutor's Office, is authorized by the PPO to review any
available KGAC data on cash declarations and vice versa.

Comment:
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4. (C) The GOK is an active supporter of the MENA/FATF, as
demonstrated recently by KGAC's contributions to the
MENA/FATF cash courier paper, its December AML conference,
and the Central Bank's December training seminar for
MENA/FATF country assessors held in Kuwait. However, the
GOK, despite tangible commitments in support of our CT
efforts, has been slow in adopting and implementing policies
to counter cash couriers. The amendments to the 2002 AML law
have yet to be finalized, although the GOK has offered to
share a copy of the revisions with the Embassy prior to its
approval by the Council of Ministers (cabinet). Direct
engagement with GOK officials at the FATF plenary will offer
another opportunity to underscore USG concerns. (Note: See
refs B-D for past reporting on these issues.)

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LeBaron