A Guide to the Perplexed: How Terrorists and Money Launderers Move Their Money & What can the International Community Do About It?

The fight against money laundering and terrorism finance is one of the most important but largely unseen struggles of our time. Press reports and U.S. Government studies are replete with intelligence that terrorists and rogue regimes are heavily abusing both the formal and informal financial sectors to move money. Methods include the use of the banking sector, cash smuggling, hawala, charities, and trade, including precious gems, gold and other untraceable commodities.

In New York City's Chinatown, restaurateur Chen Chui Ping establishes a successful informal banking business, then uses it to launder the millions of dollars she earns from one of her other enterprises-smuggling and exploiting illegal immigrants. In Colombia, the Chiquita banana company pays protection money to the AUC-a U.S.-designated terrorist group and drug cartel responsible for the deaths of untold Colombian citizens-in order to continue operating unmolested. In Iran, government authorities use state-owned banks and an array of front companies and other deceptive techniques to evade the controls of responsible financial institutions and further their nuclear and terrorist efforts. On the island of Macau, the obscure, family-owned Banco Delta Asia circulates millions of dollars in counterfeit U.S. currency on behalf of North Korean diplomats, some of whom are engaged in drug trafficking, arms deals, and other illegal activities. In Indonesia, al-Qaeda affiliate group Jemaah Islamiah uses cash couriers to deliver thousands of dollars to operatives in Bali, who use the funds to conduct a suicide bombing attack that kills more than 200 people.

These are just a handful of the abuses perpetrated by drug cartels, human smugglers, terrorists, rogue states, and other illicit actors who exploit the international financial system to further their goals. Although some of these specific activities have been successfully prosecuted or otherwise halted, such abuses continue to threaten both U.S. national security and the global economy. Accordingly, fighting them has become one of the most important struggles of our time.

This training course is intended to serve as a guide to understand the following: a) the methods utilized by money launderers and terrorist financiers to move money; b) the international standards that have been established by organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force to counter the flow of illicit money. The course also includes a review of case studies illustrating how particular terrorist organizations use and abuse the international financial system.

Who Should Attend
Military Personnel
Law Enforcement
Intelligence Analysts
Customs and Border Patrol
Ministries of Finance
Financial Institutions
College Students
Non-profits

Prerequisites
None

Duration
1- 8 Hours

Schedule
1. Introduction and Overview of Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance
2. Movement of Money
3. International Standards
4. Formal Financial Sector - Banks and other Formal Institutions
5. Informal Financial Sector - Hawala, Hundi and Casas de Cambio
6. Bulk Cash Smuggling
7. Trade Based Money Laundering
8. Case Study: How does Hizballah Move its Money
9. What is the International Community Doing About Illicit Finance?