US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1510

UNCLAS ANKARA 001510 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
STATE FOR E, EB/IFD, EB/CBA, INL/C/CP, EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT,AND 
EUR/SE 
TREASURY FOR OASIA - JLEICHTER AND MMILLS, AND OFAC DIRECTOR 
NSC FOR GPETERS, MBRYZA AND TMCKIBBEN 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN, ECON, PREL, PGOV, PTER, TU 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FINANCE MINISTER: 
TERRORISM FINANCE 
 
 
1. (Sbu) At a meeting March 9 with Finance Minister Kemal 
Unakitan, the Ambassador stressed the importance of 
strengthening Turkey's regime for combatting the financing of 
terrorism.  In this context, the Ambassador raised the Global 
Relief Foundation/Marwan Haddad case, about which the 
Department of Justice had made a formal request under the 
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).  The Ambassador passed 
a copy of the MLAT request to Minister Unakitan, in which the 
U.S. requests information on accounts in Turkey into which 
the Global Relief Foundation--an entity with ties to 
Al-Qaeda--transferred funds.  The Ambassador pointed out that 
the U.S. was only interested in tracking the links to these 
accounts, and was not interested in the other issues relating 
to the Turkish bank in question, Al-Baraka Turk.  Note: As a 
former board member of Al-Baraka, some post contacts alleged 
Unakitan was blocking cooperation with the U.S on this case. 
End Note. The Ambassador also mentioned that the team of U.S. 
experts who had visited Turkey in November was working on a 
draft report on Turkey's anti-terrorist financing regime. 
 
 
2. (Sbu) Unakitan replied that the GOT attached great 
importance to cooperation in counter- terrorism including 
combatting terrorist financing. Though the Ambassador had 
raised a number of other topics (reported septel), at the end 
of the meeting Unakitan said he was most interested in the 
terrorism finance issue. He recommended the Embassy keep 
close contacts with the Turkish anti-money laundering agency, 
MASAK, and praised MASAK's Acting Director.  Referring to the 
proposed legislation regarding MASAK, the Minister said that 
the law would strengthen MASAK's ability to fight terrorism 
financing. 
 
 
EDELMAN