The US is lauding Israel's efforts to fight money laundering. In its 2003 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) that the US Department of State submitted to Congress yesterday, Israel is cited as having achieved "substantial progress enacting anti-money laundering legislation to support its efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime… and terrorist financing regime."
The report states, "That progress prompted the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove Israel from its list of noncooperative countries and territories (NCCT) in the fight against money laundering in June 2002 and from its monitoring list in the fall of 2003." Nevertheless, Israel is still on the FATF watch list of countries will high levels of money laundering, along with most industrialized countries, including the US.
The INSCR summarizes Israel's Prohibition on Money Laundering Law 2002, which is the legal foundation for the fight against financial crime. However, the reports states, "Israel should examine the misuse of the international diamond trade to launder funds. Israel should continue to enact all regulations pursuant to the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law and continue improving its anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing regime. Israel should become a party to the UN International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism."
The report states, "In 2003, the Israeli Money laundering Prohibition Authority has received over 120,000 currency transaction reports and 1,300 suspicious transaction reports."
The INSCR notes the informal cooperation between Israeli and US law enforcement authorities in enforcing laws against financial crime, including drug trafficking and terrorism. The report cites the following example: "In 2002, Israeli and U.S. law enforcement cooperated as part of an “Operation Joint Venture,” a long-term money laundering investigation focusing on an international Israeli network that launders cash proceeds from Colombian drug-trafficking organizations. The Israeli National Police have provided U.S. law enforcement with information on the network that has led to the arrest of six individuals, including two Colombian traffickers."
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 2, 2004