GOI REITERATES DESIRE FOR INCREASED

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 001306 SIPDIS NSC FOR MARA RUDMAN AND PREM KUMAR, TREASURY FOR DANNY GLASER E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2016 TAGS: EAID EFIN PREL KPAL IS SUBJECT: GOI REITERATES DESIRE FOR INCREASED ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AML/CFT COOPERATION REF: A. TEL AVIV 01273 ¶B. TEL AVIV 01237 Classified By: Economic Counselor David R. Burnett; reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (S/NF) Yehuda Shaffer, head of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA),reiterated GOI desire for increased bilateral Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on anti-money-laundering and counter-terror-financing (AML/CFT) enforcement in a meeting with EconOff and LEGAT/I on 15 June. He also requested U.S. assistance in encouraging Palestinian and Jordanian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) counterparts to engage with the Israelis. Shaffer said that now was an excellent time for Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians to engage on these issues--before donor money starts flowing into the West Bank and Gaza. ¶2. (S/NF) Shaffer hopes to meet the head of the Palestinian Financial Follow-up Unit (FFU) and devise a strategy for bilateral cooperation. IMPA's main goal is to develop a relationship with their PA counterpart to provide information, share leads, and discuss activities and strategies, regardless of whether this engagement takes the form of an official MOU or something more informal. Shaffer noted that the GOI would be willing to keep this relationship very close hold. He finds it problematic that Jihad Al-Wazir is the only PA official willing to meet, when IMPA should really be meeting with the technical experts in the PA's FFU. To date, Shaffer said that he does not even know the name of the FFU director and instead has only received a list of potential directors from the PA. He pointed out, though, that this is not a turf-war, and that above all, the GOI wants to begin technical-level engagement with the Palestinians on AML/CFT issues--whether it be through IMPA, the Bank of Israel (BOI),or another entity. ¶4. (S/NF) Shaffer also said that establishing bilateral FIU cooperation with Jordan would be pivotal in addressing AML/CFT enforcement in the region. He mentioned that Jordan had not yet set up an FIU, making it near impossible to cooperate on such issues. Shaffer requested USG assistance in supporting the establishment of an FIU in Jordan and/or encouraging Jordanians engaged in financial intelligence work to reach out to IMPA. ¶5. (S/NF) Shaffer said that the most important way the USG could assist right now is to encourage the Palestinians and Jordanians to talk directly to the Israelis on AML/CFT issues. Short of this, he suggested two possible USG-led initiatives to encourage regional cooperation: hosting an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian FIU official meeting or sponsoring tri-lateral training--perhaps by FinCEN or the FBI's Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFOS). Separately, in order to bolster Israeli AML/CFT standards and enforcement, Shaffer voiced support for a FinCEN or FBI advisor to the new GOI Fusion Center--a task force that brings together GOI FIU, police, and tax authority officials to enforce AML/CFT standards. ¶6. (S/NF) COMMENT: Embassy finds continued GOI desire to engage with the Palestinians (and Jordanians) on technical-level AML/CFT issues heartening, and will continue to encourage such cooperation. We do not believe that either side is really ready for an MOU or other formal mechanism. However, we believe that supporting these bilateral relationships as part of the larger framework of Israeli-Palestinian engagement on economic issues will help to build trust and strengthen ties. Solidifying regional cooperation on AML/CFT issues will lay an important groundwork for tackling related issues, such as Gaza cash transfers and increased Israeli-Palestinian economic integration. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM