Platts to Co-Chair Field Hearing on Coordinating the Government's Attack on Terrorist Financing

Committees Seek to Identify, Disrupt and Dismantle a Constantly Evolving Threat to National Security

Tampa, Florida - Congressman Todd Russell Platts (PA-19), chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management, will be co-chairing a field hearing at the Tampa Port Authority on Monday, December 15, 2003, to assess the federal government's response to terrorist financing.

Congressman Platts' subcommittee will be joined by members of the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Affairs and the Census, chaired by Rep. Adam Putnam (FL-12). Members of these two Government Reform Subcommittees will hear testimony from employees of the State Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service.

Financial crimes provide the functional equivalent of a war industry for terrorists. Since the 1980s the federal government has targeted money laundering - the disguising of profits from illegal activities such as drug sales, smuggling, or piracy. These illicit funds can and do provide a ready source of money for terrorists. The full scope of terrorist financing, however, is much larger.

Legitimate charities, non-profit corporations, and think tanks funneled millions of dollars through the U.S. banking system to fund terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and HAMAS. Many of these organizations earned tax-exempt status from the IRS. The complexity of targeting these types of entities required a new focus in the war on financial crime.

"Rooting out the perpetrators of such financial crimes can expose the infrastructure of criminal organizations and provide a roadmap to those who facilitate criminal activities and terrorist acts," Congressman Platts said. "Effectively leveraging all available resources and technology is perhaps our best protection against future attacks."

While the source and destination of funding may differ, the mechanisms used to disguise funds for terrorist organizations are similar to those used by drug traffickers and criminal organizations. With tools provided by the USA PATRIOT Act and the strategic efforts that had been in play to fight drug cartels, the federal government has sharpened its focus and has striven for unprecedented coordination among law enforcement entities and foreign governments.

The witnesses will testify on the 2003 National Money Laundering Strategy, issued last November, and their efforts to leverage resources and utilize information technology effectively and efficiently.

Tampa, Florida, is home to University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian, who was indicted on February 19, 2003. A federal grand jury indicted Al-Arian, three foreign nationals who served as leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and four members of the Tampa PIJ cell with 50 counts, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, murder, and material support of terrorism. PIJ, a designated foreign terrorist organization under Executive Order 13224, is a Syrian-based organization that has engaged in a campaign of suicide bombings and attacks that have killed hundreds - including American tourists traveling in Israel.

Sami Al-Arian and his co-conspirators used facilities in the U.S., including the University of South Florida and affiliated non-profit research foundations, to serve as the North American base of PIJ. Eight years of intercepted wire conversations and faxes demonstrated the defendants' active involvement in the worldwide operations of PIJ.

Witnesses

Jeff Ross, Senior Advisor
Executive Office for Terrorist Financing/Financial Crimes
Department of the Treasury

George A. Glass, Director, Office of Economic Sanctions Policy
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State

Carl Whitehead, Special Agent in Charge, Tampa Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice

Marcy M. Forman, Deputy Assistant Director,
Financial Investigations Division
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security

Bruce Townsend, Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Investigations
U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security