Resources
Need to Update Treasury’s Terrorist Listing and Delisting Procedures
The U.S. terrorist listing process is designed to cut off funding to terrorists by freezing their funds and banning financial transactions with them. The President designates terrorist groups by Executive Order and authorizes the Treasury Department to list others that support them. A lack of clear standards, transparency and oversight of the list has raised serious concerns over the due process rights of those listed and the accuracy of the list itself.
DOJ Inspector General Report on FBI’s Anti-Terrorist Financing Efforts
In March 2013, the Department of Justice Inspector General (IG) released an audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the DOJ’s National Security Division collaborative efforts to counter terrorist financing (CFT). Along with making an unsupported claim that terrorists commonly use donations to charities as a revenue source, the audit touches on areas of the FBI and DOJ’s CFT efforts that are less commonly reported on, including the terrorist designation process and interagency Terrorist Financing Working Group. It lays out eight recommendations for improvement, including identifying ways “that the FBI could strengthen its terrorist financing program through improved case management practices” and more specialized training for senior staff positions.
DOJ Inspector General Report on FBI’s Anti-Terrorist Financing Efforts
In March 2013, the Department of Justice Inspector General (IG) released an audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the DOJ’s National Security Division collaborative efforts to counter terrorist financing (CFT). Along with making an unsupported claim that terrorists commonly use donations to charities as a revenue source, the audit touches on areas of the FBI and DOJ’s CFT efforts that are less commonly reported on, including the terrorist designation process and interagency Terrorist Financing Working Group. It lays out eight recommendations for improvement, including identifying ways “that the FBI could strengthen its terrorist financing program through improved case management practices” and more specialized training for senior staff positions.
The Financial Action Task Force: What Nonprofits Need to Know
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental policy making body that sets anti-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering standards that it uses to assess the adequacy of laws in nearly every country in the world. Since 9/11 it has increased its focus on regulation of financial services and charities, with negative consequences for charitable and development programs and free civil society around the globe.
Holy Land Foundation Case Summary: Controversial “Material Support” of Terrorism Trial Results in Long Sentences for former Charity Officials
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was the largest Islamic charity in the U.S. until the Bush administration shut it down three months after 9/11. HLF had been legally operating for over a decade before its designation and closure in December 2001. Its former officials were convicted of providing material support for terrorism on retrial in November 2008, and received sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years.
Al-Haramain Summary: Successfully Challenging Treasury’s Unlimited Power to Shut Down Charities
In June 2012, the U.S. Solicitor General decided not to file a request for Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Al-Haramain v. Treasury. The appellate court opinion from September 2011 had upheld a lower court’s ruling that said procedures used by the Department of Treasury to shut down the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation of Oregon (AHIF-OR) violated the organization's Fifth Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights. In February 2004, federal agents raided AHIF-OR's offices pursuant to a warrant as part of an investigation into financial crimes. The next day OFAC froze AHIF-OR's assets pending an investigation into whether or not the charity would be classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
Al-Haramain v. Bush Summary: Trying to Hold the Executive Branch Responsible for Illegal Wiretapping
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) v. Bush was filed in 2006 after attorneys for the charity found records of the warrantless wiretap in documents the government provided in other litigation involving the charity. The case is the only legal challenge to Bush-era illegal surveillance programs that had survived in court, because AHIF and its lawyers were able to show they had been subjected to unwarranted surveillance by using public records and statements.
Department of State’s Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)
To designate an organization, the United States government (USG) only needs to have a "reasonable suspicion" that it is providing "financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to" a designated terrorist organization or "otherwise associate[ing]" with a designated organization. Consequences of designation include the seizing and freezing of all tangible and financial assets and significant civil and criminal penalties. Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State. As of September 2012:
Africa Crises Fact Sheet
A combination of conflict, food shortages, and drought in regions of Northern Africa has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis. In the Sahel, armed conflicts in Mali and Chad have displaced thousands and placed additional strain on overfull refugee camps. After a famine occurred last year in Horn of Africa, re-stabilization has been tenuous as conflict and protracted food insecurity threatens to undo the progress made by aid groups.
Click here for a printable, PDF version of this Fact Sheet
Treasury’s 2011 Terrorist Assets Report
On March 14, 2012, the Treasury Department released the Terrorist Assets Report for 2011. Required by law since 1991, the report offers a year-end snapshot of dollar amounts of terrorist assets held in U.S. jurisdiction. The total amount of blocked funds in 2011 relating to designated terrorist entities (e.g. SDGT, SDT, and FTOs) was $21,109,888. This is an increase of nearly 19 percent from 2010 ($17,638,123). Assets related to the four country sponsors of terrorism (Cuba, Sudan, Syria, and Iran) totaled $398.6 million, an increase of nearly 28 percent from 2010 ($309.5).
