Posted on 03/30/2003 11:41:13 PM PST by miltonim
FORTUNE interviews deputy assistant treasury secretary Juan Zarate.
While U.S. troops storm Iraq, another battalion in D.C. is busy trying to prevent the next terrorist attack. But they're not soldiers--they're bureaucrats chasing the al Qaeda money trail. Leading the charge is deputy assistant treasury secretary Juan Zarate. At just 31, the former prosecutor (and Harvard baseball player) has been working since Sept. 11 to locate and shut down al Qaeda's many financial conduits. As a result of these efforts, President Bush has frozen more than $125 million in assets owned by 263 individuals and entities. We caught up with Zarate to discuss front companies, reward money, and Osama.
Q: How extensive is the U.S. effort to hunt down these financial networks?
A: It's a government-wide effort. It involves significant resources here in Washington and in the field: the FBI, Customs, the IRS, the State Department, and many others. Hundreds of people. And it is a priority. It was President Bush's first attack against terrorism after Sept. 11.
Q: How tough is it to trace the cash?
A: Relatively complicated. Some cells are involved in criminal activity. Certain cells have front companies. We've named honey shops in the Middle East, for example, that have been used as al Qaeda fronts. And we've also designated 17 charities around the world that have been used by al Qaeda to raise and move funds.
Q: How do you find these networks? Do you use spies, or is it all computer-driven?
A: It's a combination. We have financial data from 69 countries. We also have a reward program in which the Treasury Department is offering $5 million for information that could lead to the dismantling of a terrorist financial network.
Q: Have you awarded any part of the $5 million yet?
A: No. But we are certainly getting leads.
Q: Has there ever been a larger effort to go after an international financial network?
A: The most analogous program is the one that went after the financial facilitators of the Cali [drug] cartel, but the terrorist-financing program eclipses that one.
Q: How much money have you stopped from flowing into terrorist coffers?
A: Terrorist groups don't have a large pot of money sitting somewhere. Instead they have ongoing operations to raise and move funds for their immediate needs. And although I can't give you numbers, we do know that our name-and-shame operation has deterred donors.
Q: Will this hunt benefit U.S. businesses?
A: Yes. For example, at our urging, the Philippines, Russia, and others have passed money-laundering laws, which helps ensure that their financial systems are less subject to corruption. That in turn has made these countries safer for U.S. businesses.
Q: Now that we're at war, have your activities reduced the odds of terrorism in the U.S.?
A: I'd like to think so. I do know that al Qaeda is hurting. It's on the ropes. It's even started to charge Al-Jazeera for the use of taped statements of Osama bin Laden associates
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