US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2034

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR OFAC AND FINCEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2015 
TAGS: EFIN, PTER, KTFN, TU 
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: MFA REQUESTS MORE BACKGROUND 
INFORMATION FOR COURT CHALLENGES TO ASSET FREEZES 
 
 
Classified By: Robert S. Deutsch for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
THIS IS AN ACTION REQUEST, SEE PARAGRAPH 4. 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The asset freezes of Nasreddin Group Holding 
and Yasin Al-Qadi are currently being challenged in Turkey's 
highest administrative court.  MFA officials requested more 
background information on these UN 1267 Committee designees 
to help support the GOT's case.  A court ruling in favor of 
Nasreddin and Yasin Al-Qadi could serve as a major setback 
for the GOT's already weak counter-terror finance regime and 
a bad international precedent for terror finance asset 
freezes.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) MFA Intelligence and Research Department Head Ahmet 
Arda and First Secretary Togan Oral told econoffs that since 
their government began receiving lists for UN 1267 Committee 
designations, there have been three cases in which the GOT 
identified and froze the assets in Turkey of individuals 
and/or entities associated with or connected to Usama bin 
Laden (UBL), Al Qaida (AQ), and/or the Taliban.  Two of these 
cases are currently being challenged in court. 
 
3. (C) Nasreddin Group Holding and another UN-designated 
individual, Yasin Al-Qadi, filed for an injunction with the 
GOT's highest administrative court to stop the administrative 
freezing of their assets, which they claimed was 
unconstitutional.  The court cases are still undecided.  MFA 
officials told econoffs that in cases such as these, where 
the GOT freezes assets of individuals or entities solely on 
the basis of complying with UN Security Council Resolutions 
and the UN 1267 Committee, the GOT needs more background 
information on the individual or entity, preferably in a form 
that meets a judicial evidentiary standard, to build and 
support its cases in court.  Though the GOT is arguing that 
UN Security Council resolutions carry the force of law in 
Turkey, there is a risk that a Turkish court will deem this 
legal basis insufficient under the Turkish Constitution to 
indefinitely freeze individuals, assets.  It is precisely 
because of the danger of such a legal interpretation that the 
GOT is working to tighten up the legal basis of its 
anti-terror finance regime, albeit at a glacial pace. 
 
4. (C) The MFA is turning to us as it understands that the 
1267 listings of Nasreddin and Al-Qadi were proposed by the 
United States.  They have also approached the United Nations 
Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) staff in New York for 
additional information, which, the Turks said referred them 
to the United States. 
 
5. (C) Comment: If the courts decide in favor of Nasreddin 
and Al-Qadi, it would be a major setback for the GOT's 
already weak counter-terror finance regime in which the GOT 
now only has the legal authority to freeze assets of 
UN-designated individuals or entities associated with 
terrorist financing.  GOT authorities' ability to freeze 
assets could be hampered if the courts set a new precedent 
and decide that the freezing of Nasreddin's and Al-Qadi's 
assets were unconstitutional.  It would also call in question 
Turkey's ability to comply with UN resolutions.  Given that 
the typical "statement of case" does not provide the kind of 
evidence needed for court cases, and given Turkish courts' 
track records in other spheres, Post recommends Washington do 
what it can to provide the Turkish MFA with evidence for the 
designations.  End Comment. 
EDELMAN