TERROR FINANCE: MFA ON GOK

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000218 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/ESC/TFS; TREASURY FOR KRISTEN HECHT E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2018 TAGS: EFIN KU KTFN PGOV PREL PTER SUBJECT: TERROR FINANCE: MFA ON GOK OBLIGATIONS/HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS REGARDING FAMILIES OF UNSCR 1267 DESIGNEES REF: A. 06 KUWAIT 4637 ¶B. KUWAIT 79 ¶C. KUWAIT 90 ¶D. KUWAIT 97 ¶E. KUWAIT 98 ¶F. STATE 7443 Classified By: CDA Tim Lenderking for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On February 13 A/Polcouns and Econoff called on Ambassador Khaled Al-Maqamis, MFA Director of Follow-up and Coordination to discuss the implementation of Kuwait's obligations to freeze the assets of three recently Kuwaiti terrorist financiers under UNSCR 1267. This discussion was prompted by previous exchanges between CDA and MFA U/S Khaled Al-Jarallah regarding GOK concerns over how to make subsistence funds available to the family members of designees Hamed Al-Ali, Jaber Al-Jalahmah and Mubarak Al-Bathali. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Maqamis acknowledged that the GOK was obligated to comply with the terms of UNSCR 1267 but lamented the "quick" judgment of the UNSCR 1267 Committee and believed that the committee had not taken into consideration the humanitarian needs of the families of the designees. He was especially preoccupied with the needs of the family of Mubarak Al-Bathali, asking, "How can his family survive on a 300KD (USD 1000/month) salary?" Econoff told Maqamis the USG was aware of the GOK's concerns and provided him with a copy of a February 7 letter from the CDA to MFA U/S Jarallah addressing this issue. Econoff stressed that since there were humanitarian provisions under UNSCR 1452, the GOK should not delay further in freezing the assets of the three Kuwaiti designees. ¶3. (C) Following is the text of the letter to U/S Jarallah dated February 7, 2008: Your Excellency: I am writing regarding our recent discussions about how to make funds available to the families of the three Kuwaitis whose assets were frozen pursuant to their designation on January 16, 2008 by the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee. There are procedures in place that allow for the release of specific funds under United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1452. The Government of KUWAIT can submit a request to the United Nations 1267 Committee requesting that specific funds be made available for necessary basic expenses, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatments, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges. Once the request is received by the committee and there are no objections to the request, the Government of KUWAIT would be duly authorized to make these funds available to the families within 48 hours. We hope that this information is useful and will permit Kuwait to move vigorously to fulfill its international obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution ¶1267. (complimentary closing) ¶4. (U) Econoff also took the opportunity to urge strong GOK participation in the following AML/CTF events: --Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) workshop in KUWAIT March 31-April 2 --Bulk Cash Smuggling Seminar in Amman, Jordan March 10-13 --FDIC Counterterrorism Financial Regulatory training March 10-14 in Arlington, Virginia. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LENDERKING