MAY 1 DANISH FLIGHT SEARCH NETS 19 PKK CASH

S E C R E T ANKARA 002989 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2027 TAGS: PTER PREL EFIN KTFN IZ DA TU SUBJECT: MAY 1 DANISH FLIGHT SEARCH NETS 19 PKK CASH COURIERS, LIMITED CONFISCATIONS REF: ANKARA 2917 Classified By: Political Counselor Janice Weiner. Reason: 1.4 (b)(d). ¶1. (S) Danish authorities briefly detained 19 suspected PPK cash couriers on a May 1 charter flight that stopped in Copenhagen en route from Stockholm to Erbil in northern Iraq, Danish Embassy Police Liaison Officer Jens Mortensen told Regional CT Coordinator on December 14. The flight was given special scrutiny based on a request from Turkish authorities who believed PKK operatives were using seasonal charter flights to transport large sums to northern Iraq for a PKK assembly. In total, the 19 Kurds carried cash worth about $160,600 (at May 1 exchange rates) mostly in US dollars, with some Euros and Danish Kroner. (Earlier reports wrongly claimed nearly $300,000 was found; the discrepancy was due to placement of an extra zero during currency conversion.) ¶2. (S) All the Kurds were traveling on Iraqi passports, though many were residents of Sweden and Denmark, Mortensen explained. Bundles of currency were concealed in their clothing. Most individual amounts were below the 15,000 EUR threshold requiring declaration, making prosecution difficult. In an attempt to get around that barrier, customs officials used their authority to contact local officials to determine whether the individuals were in violation of any statute, e.g., failure to pay taxes, in arrears with support payments, etc. In those cases, funds were confiscated. Mortensen admitted that most of the money was returned to the travelers. He suggested that the success in stopping and briefly detaining the cash couriers sent a warning to the PKK that it cannot operate with impunity. ¶3. (S) Separately, Mortensen related, sensitive sources in Copenhagen report PKK fund-raising within Denmark's Kurdish community has dropped sharply in the past few years. According to one sensitive source, the amount raised fell over the past two years from about $1,000,000 to $250,000 - $500,000. Mortensen attributed this to a generational change in attitude. Young Kurds are interested in establishing a stable life for themselves in Denmark. Most hard-core PKK supporters are middle-aged activists, he asserted. ¶4. (S) Comment. As underscored in reftel, successfully interdicting PKK money flows will require U.S., Iraqi, Turkish and European authorities to collaborate in a targeted effort that includes enhanced airport screening, more extensive customs procedures and aggressive disruption of illicit cash transfers into northern Iraq. It will not be easy. As the Copenhagen episode shows, whenever possible, the PKK will continue to maneuver within the limits of the law. It is worth exploring whether, should a similar case arise in the future, a legal mechanism exists to detain the cash couriers and/or confiscate money brought into Erbil if the Danes, Turks and Iraqis work more closely together. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON