TERRORISM FINANCE COORDINATION OFFICER (TFCO):

S E C R E T ZAGREB 001385 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT (PATTY HILL) INL/C/CP (STEVEN PETERSON) IO/PSC (JOHN SANDAGE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2016 TAGS: KTFN KVPR EFIN ETTC PREL PTER HR SUBJECT: TERRORISM FINANCE COORDINATION OFFICER (TFCO): CROATIA REF: SECSTATE 181096 Classified By: DCM Greg Delawie for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (SBU) The Terrorism Finance Coordination Officer (TFCO) for Embassy Zagreb is Econ Section Chief Nicholas Berliner, tel: 385-1-661-2229, email: berlinernr@state.gov. TFCO Deputy is Marlene Nice, Economic Officer, tel: 385-1-661-2225, email: nicemm@state.gov. ¶2. (SBU) Small countries with limited resources, such as Croatia, can benefit greatly from assistance in fighting terrorist finance and money laundering. Contacts here have complained that various international conferences and even most assistance is too theoretical and does not get to the nuts and bolts issues of how to effectively fight these problems. Bringing in U.S. experts on a regular basis could not only boost local capacity, but also establish working-level contact networks that could enhance overall effectiveness. ¶3. (C) Per reftel para 9d request, Croatia has a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) that has authority to freeze terrorist funds on its own authority for up to 72 hours pending a court order; it has ratified the UN Convention on Terrorism Financing; it has implemented UNSCRs 1267, 1373, 1390, and 1455; it has adopted anti-money-laundering legislation; it is an Egmont member and it is a FATF member. Croatia has issued freeze orders on several accounts of individuals listed by the UN 1267 Committee. Cooperation with the U.S. is good. FIU effectiveness, however, is limited by a lack of trained personnel and bureaucratic inefficiency. ¶4. (S/NF) Post is aware of no evidence of a HAMAS or Hizballah presence in Croatia. BRADTKE