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TODAY'S FREE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE UPDATE
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STRATFOR.com
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THE INTERNET SOURCE FOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

If it’s in the news, it’s too late...

Underground Banking System Blurs Terrorist Transactions
September 9, 2001

A traditional, underground method of money transfers widely used in the Muslim world will make it much harder for investigators to find the financial trails leading to Osama bin Laden.

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(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.

The remainder of the above piece is hidden behind the Strator fire-wall, but the gist of the message can be found at my much earlier post (which I could find if there was a search engine here -- hint, hint).

The idea is that if a man in Libya has family in Michigan and he wishes to send a quantity of funds, he goes to his local broker. This person will take the man’s money, plus commission, and call a broker in Michigan. The Michigan broker will hand the amount to the family. Should a man in Michigan have family in Saudi Arabia and wish to send money to them, he would contact the Michigan broker and pay him the amount, along with a commission. The Michigan broker calls the Saudi broker, who hands the family the amount of money the man wanted sent.

At no time is this money transferred via banking systems. There is no “money trail” to follow. These transactions are handled through private organizations and entirely on faith, with a contract that’s as legible as a handshake. And this was known long before CinC G. W. Bush pushed to freeze terrorist assets.

Does this mean it’s a wasted effort?

Of course not. What was placed into effect was overlooked by a number of illegal groups, some of whom have been picked up for questioning. As SofD D. Rumsfeld stated at the time the freeze was implemented, “Every dime helps.”

Dan