INVITATION TO ATTEND MARCH BULK CASH SMUGGLING SEMINAR IN

UNCLAS AMMAN 000099 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA AND EEB STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID CAIRO FOR ALER GRUBBS DHS PLEASE PASS TO ICE FOR SHAUN LONERGAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ETRD KTFN SNAR XF SUBJECT: INVITATION TO ATTEND MARCH BULK CASH SMUGGLING SEMINAR IN JORDAN ¶1. This message contains action requests. Please see paragraphs 4-8. ¶2. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) and the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (DHS-ICE and CBP) will jointly deliver a seminar on the Interdiction and Investigation of Bulk Cash Smuggling (BCS) in Amman, Jordan March 10-13. This event is being offered to customs, prosecutorial, and financial intelligence unit personnel from Middle East and North African countries to assist these countries in enhancing their national mechanisms dedicated to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The seminar will focus on bulk cash smuggling as it applies to AML/CFT efforts. ¶3. Treasury/OTA and DHS, with funding assistance from USAID, invite action addressees to participate in the seminar, and will pay for the travel, lodging, per diem, and visa application fees (if necessary) for one prosecutor and one customs official from specified countries (see paragraphs 4-8). The Palestinian Authority is also invited to participate. ¶4. Action request for Embassies Algiers, Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Nouakchott, Rabat, Sanaa, and Tunis: Please notify host governments of this event, and assist in identifying appropriate participants from among officials in the public prosecution, customs, and financial intelligence units of host governments. ¶5. Action request for Consulate General Jerusalem: Please extend this invitation to the Palestinian Authority. ¶6. Action Request for Embassies Manama, Kuwait, Muscat, Doha, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi: Due to USAID funding restrictions on paying for travel and per diem of participants from certain Gulf states, Embassies Manama, Kuwait, Muscat, Doha, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi are requested to identify candidates and encourage host governments to fund their attendance. In the event that external funding becomes available for participants from these countries, posts will be informed by septel. ¶7. Action Request for Embassy Manama: Post is also requested to extend an invitation to the MENAFATF Secretariat. The MENAFATF participant will need to be funded by the organization. �A; ¶8. Ideal participants should have a direct connection to the governments' AML/CFT efforts. Prosecutors and customs officials who are in a position of AML/CFT policy development and implementation are strongly preferred. Funding of participants is limited to one prosecutor and one customs official. However, FIU participants are invited and encouraged to attend in order to strengthen their national AML/CFT system. Posts are encouraged to consider the possibility of funding an FIU participant if participation meets the AML/CFT objectives of post. Posts are individually responsible for the vetting of participants from their country in accordance with post and Department policies. ¶9. The deadline for submission of names of participants is February ¶11. Identifying data should include: Full name, DOB, position title, complete agency name and business address, national ID number, contact telephone numbers, and email address. After names are submitted to the Embassy Amman point of contact (below),fund cite information will be relayed to the submitting post for acquisition of airline tickets and issuance of the travel advance. Each post is responsible for coordinating the travel of its host nation nominee and informing the participant of the need to acquire an entry visa to Jordan, if necessary. Deadline for submission of travel information is March 2. ¶10. Official travel days will be March 9 and March 14. Lodging will be paid in advance by U.S. Treasury for the nights of March 9-13. Participants will be responsible for ground transportation to/from Queen Alia International Airport and the hotel. The seminar will end on March 13 at approximately 3:30 PM (GMT+2). If participants wish to begin their return travel on March 13, flight departure should be planned to occur after 6:00 PM to allow time for ground travel to the airport. ¶11. Presentations at the seminar will be in English. English-Arabic and Arabic-English interpretation will be provided. ¶12. The seminar agenda will address the following topics: Money Laundering Fundamentals International AML/CFT Standards & Best Practices FATF Special Recommendation IX and Associated Guidance Intelligence Analysis Interdicting Cash Couriers - Best Practices & Red Flag Indicators Asset Forfeiture Interviewing Techniques BCS Money Laundering Case Studies Alternate Remittance Systems Anti-Corruption in Government Cash Declaration Form Practical Exercise Source Development Follow-Up Investigative Techniques Interdiction Practical Exercise Practical Exercise (Follow-up Investigation) ¶13. A bilingual brochure concerning this event and an invitation letter template will be available on the Embassy Amman intranet site at amman.state.gov by January 16. Posts may download these documents for use in recruiting participants. ¶14. The Embassy Amman point of contact for the event is Joe Parker, Resident Enforcement Advisor, U.S. Treasury. He can be reached by e-mail at parkerje@state.gov, or by telephone at 962-6-590-6544 (embassy) or 962-79-582-3305 (mobile). HALE