GOB Ready to Cooperate to Fight Money

UNCLAS MINSK 000094 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN KCRM PGOV BO SUBJECT: GOB Ready to Cooperate to Fight Money Laundering ¶1. (U) In a surprisingly cooperative meeting between Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and members of the State Control Committee (SCC),the GOB was responsive to Post's request for information on GOB practices to combat money laundering and terrorism finance. On January 5, 2005, DCM met with Director of the Department of Financial Monitoring (DFM) Valery Yaroshevsky and several other SCC officials to secure answers for the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on money laundering and terrorist finance prevention in Belarus. [Note: DFM is the official name for the Belarusian Financial Intelligence Unit.] In contrast to Post's previous requests for information from the GOB, the officials readily provided copious amounts of valuable information on the overall banking system, state controls on money laundering and the structure and operations of the Belarusian State Control Committee, which oversees all financial inspections and investigations in Belarus. ¶2. (U) During the meeting, Yaroshevsky requested Post's assistance in establi3hing working relations with U.S. FINCEN. Yaroshevsky stated the lack of such relations prevents the DFM from verifying sources of income allegedly received from the U.S. Yaroshevsky claimed the DFM has attempted to work with FINCEN in the past, but have been denied help. As evidence of their rebuked attempts to request assistance, Yaroshevsky passed DCM a copy of FINCEN's response to a DFM's inquiry that stated cooperation with Belarus is not possible until after it joins Egmont group. [Note: Belarus has applied for membership to the Egmont group, but its membership application is still pending.] ¶3. (SBU) Similar to combating trafficking in persons, fighting money laundering and terrorism finance is an issue of mutual interest with potential for useful cooperation with the GOB. The GOB is clearly interested in demonstrating its efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism finance and has offered additional unsolicited meetings on banking issues with the National Bank of Belarus and the Ministry of the Interior. Although the Belarusians may highlight the contact as showing we have "normal" relations, we think it worthwhile to maintain and increase as we can these working level contracts. Post, therefore, urges Washington to consider facilitating developments of working level contacts between the DFM and FINCEN. Krol