Norway upholds Expulsion Order

Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad's (UID 80487) appeal against his extradition to Iraq has fallen on deaf ears in Norway, and the earlier decision to expel him was upheld. However, Ahmad aka Mullah Krekar is not taking the decision lying down and has according to reports, spoken out that he doubts that Norway will actually go through with his expulsion. He has warned that his followers would be likely to 'react' and take action against Norway if he was forced to leave the country. Krekar was the former leader of the Islamic guerrilla group Ansar al Islam (UID 80486). Krekar, who goes under various aliases, is listed on all major watch lists and has been in the World-Check database since September 2002.

Terrorist claims to have trained 9/11 hijackers

Syrian Louia al-Sakka (UID 337070) who is currently incarcerated in a high security prison in Turkey has claimed that he trained the 9/11 hijackers. Al-Sakka was jailed last year for his connection to the bombing of the British Consulate, a bank and synagogues in Istanbul. He claims to have spent time alongside the late Al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Chechen Terror Group claim responsibility

A watchlist designated global terrorist group has claimed they were responsible for the November bombing of the train which runs between Moscow and St Petersburg. Near Malaya Vishera a bomb was detonated under the Neva Express and tens of people were injured in the explosion. A few days after the blast Riyadh as-Salihin (UID 141000) made the claim in a telephone call to an East European radio station that they were responsible. Riyadh as-Salihin's leader Shamil Basayev was killed in July this year.

Germany hands two suspects to Turkey for trial

Mehmet Iltas (UID 759088) and Mehmet Kizilay (UID 759091) were handed over by the German Government to stand trial in Turkey. The pair are believed to be members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party (UID 1734) which is outlawed in Turkey. Both the United States and Europe have declared the PKK a terrorist organisation. Iltas was allegedly involved in attacks on the military and a vehicle in south-eastern Turkey during 1991 which killed eight people and his co-accused is reported to have killed a policeman.

Sailor accused of leaking critical information

Paul R. Haul, who changed his name to Hasan Abu Jihaad (UID 579832) when he embraced Islam is currently on trial in the Federal court in Connecticut. Jihaad is accused of leaking critical information to a terrorist organisation. During 2001 it has been reported that Jihaad, a former American sailor, offered to divulge the whereabouts of navy ships. Jihaad's defence team have challenged the legality of the evidence given. In a separate charge Jihaad is alleged to have planned to attack military personnel in San Diego. See who he is linked to and their current status by checking out his profile.

Portugal asked to give up fugitive

The US has asked Portugal to extradite Allan Sharif (UID 747615), who in March 2006 threatened to blow up a Miami mid-Beach bank and kill employees and police officers. Sharif faces charges of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction. Sharif was previously wanted on an unrelated 2005 fraud indictment; he fled the jurisdiction before he could be arrested. Paulo Manuel Da Silva Almeida (UID 747623) his accomplice has already pleaded guilty to a lesser charge involving a fraudulent cheque in a plea bargain and has spilled the beans on Sharif. Check out the hyperlink sources on Sharif's profile to read the whole story.

Authorities arrest ETA suspect in France

In November 2007, French police arrested Maria Jesus Arriaga Martinez (UID 756249) close to the Spanish border. Martinez was wanted by Spanish authorities for a terrorist attack in Pamplona in May 1985. It is alleged that after the attack Martinez fled the country with her former husband. In recent weeks the French police have arrested and returned a further two ETA operatives, Pedro María Goikoetxea Elorza (UID 753662) and Concepción Iglesias Álvarez (UID 753661) who were both wanted in connection with terrorist attacks during the 1990s.

Danes face prison in 'T-shirt terror trial'

Seven members of a Danish activist group Fighters+Lovers (UID 409110) are facing charges of "sponsoring terrorism" in a trial which is taking place in Copenhagen. The group sold t-shirts bearing the logos of two EU designated terrorist groups The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Prosecutors allege that the funds garnered from the sale of these items were destined for the terror groups themselves. The accused refute this claim and state that "they weren't financing any sort of violence and that the money which would have gone to the two organisations was earmarked for humanitarian projects". A verdict is expected on December 13.

"Money underpins all terrorist activity. The disruption of terrorist financing is a key element of the Government's overall fight against terrorism. It requires government, law enforcement agencies and the financial and charitable sectors to work closely together and the measures outlined in the strategy will ensure a partnership approach to the new and increasing challenges we face."

Trends in Terror Finance
Part 3 - The Unregulated Sector

This report is the third of a three-part series on emerging paths for the financing of terrorism in the unregulated sector. The first report highlighted the increasing convergence of the telecommunications and banking sectors, exemplified by the rise of mobile phone banking (m-banking). The second report detailed two additional and interrelated e-payment modes – virtual currencies and virtual worlds – in regard to the terrorist financing risks involved.

This report explores the regulatory challenges presented by the rapid growth and proliferation of e-payment systems with respect to countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). The article first draws an important distinction between m-banking and other e-payment systems. It then proceeds by addressing two key interlocking issues that appear to cloud the regulatory environment for these systems: jurisdictional issues and definitional issues. The core of the jurisdictional problem lies in the disconnect between the globalised nature of e-payment services, the World Wide Web and rapidly evolving information technologies on the one hand, and state-centric domestic and international legal and regulatory frameworks on the other. E-payment transactions often de-territorialise financial transactions from states, and thus raise difficult questions about the legal jurisdiction of regulatory authorities.

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A further reminder to our readers that the Bank of England is no longer issuing the UK sanctions listings, the function has been taken over by HM Treasury Office. For your information the additional World-Check keyword is UKHMT to add to your filter criteria when conducting a UK sanction/watch list search. Please click here for more detailed information.

The UK HM Treasury removed 13 names from their Al-Qaida and Taliban list on 16-11-2007.

The US Treasury OFAC added one name Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation and deleted one individual and his associated entities on their terrorism watch list on 15-11-2007. They added Abdelmalek Droukdel on 04-12-2007. Droukdel has been in the World-Check database since September 2004, and was added to other watch lists including the United Nations earlier this year. You can read our August 31 Press Release here which contains more details about Droukdel.

The United Nations removed Ahmad Nasreddin and his associated entities from their Al-Qaida and Taliban watch list on 15-11-2007.

Following the amendment to the entries of 23 individuals on 01-11-2007 the EU removed the same names as OFAC, The UKHMT and the UN from their list on 28-11-2007.

EVENTS:

The Swedish National Defence College and the UK Defence Academy debate effective measures to combat trans-national threats.

WORLD-CHECK NEWS

To read the first two parts of our Expert Talk series, which puts the Unregulated Sector under the spotlight please click here. Also a reminder that there are a number of terrorism-related working papers available for your perusal here.