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R 041528Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0417
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1485
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2413
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1838
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 3070
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 9412
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 3219
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 4639
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0886

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000711 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2018 
TAGS: PREL PTER KFIN IT
SUBJECT: ITALY/TERROR FINANCE: A NEW PROCEDURE ON 1267 
DELISTING REQUESTS 
 
REF: A. STATE 024914 
     ¶B. 07 ROME 002515 
 
Classified By: Econ Counselor William R. Meara 
for Reasons 1.4  (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The Italian Government has determined that 
it cannot continue to support the 1267 (al-Qaida/Taliban) 
listing of its nationals if they have been cleared of 
criminal charges.  Italy will support delisting requests from 
persons cleared of charges, but it will forward delisting 
requests through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The 
Italian MFA is shielded from domestic information requests, 
helping the MFA avoid having to disclose the deliberations of 
the 1267 Committee.  The Nada and Himmat Cases will be the 
first application of this policy. End summary. 
 
¶2. (C)  Background: Italian citizen Youseff M. Nada,s 
request to be delisted from UN 1267 (al-Qaida/Taliban) 
sanctions was denied in September 2007 by the 1267 Committee. 
 The 1267 Committee had denied Nada,s fellow Italian citizen 
Ali Ghaleb Himmat,s delisting request in November 2007.  A 
third associate, Ahmed Idriss Nasreddin, was delisted from 
the 1267 List in November 2007.  Domestic legal proceedings 
cleared all three individuals in Italian court, but the 
magistrate overseeing the case noted that he believed all 
three men had ties to terrorist organizations.  The laws 
prohibiting ties to terrorist organizations, however, took 
effect after the infractions occurred and the magistrate 
could not prosecute.  Since then, both Nada and Himmat have 
hired a lawyer who has pressed Italy's FSC, the competent 
legal authority, to do more to facilitate their delisting 
from UNSCR 1267 (Reftels A, B).  End background. 
 
¶3. (C) On May 8, the FSC finalized the GOI's way forward on 
de-listing questions.  Cristina Collura, head of the Ministry 
of Finance's Financial Crimes office, told Econoff that the 
FSC will draft a letter to the lawyer representing both Nada 
and Himmat stating that they have reviewed each request. 
Citing the magistrate's opinion that the GOI cannot prosecute 
Nada and Himmat, the FSC will inform the two individuals that 
Italy's FSC agreed to seek their delisting from the 1267 
Committee.  The FSC decision will make clear to Nada and 
Himmat's lawyer that as far as their domestic 
responsibilities to both nationals, the Italian government 
has taken action by asking the MFA to seek delisting at the 
1267 committee.  However, the letter will clarify the 
difference between Italy's domestic responsibilities to their 
nationals and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
responsibilities vis-a-vis UN action. The Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs will be directed to follow the FSC's policy 
instruction, but the process by which they carry them out 
will be protected as a matter of foreign policy.  Collura 
stressed that this mechanism enables the GOI to fulfill its 
obligations to its nationals and follows their internal 
judicial procedures, but also protects the GOI from 
discussing matters of foreign policy openly with the lawyer. 
The lawyer for Nada and Himmat has repeatedly requested the 
FSC to reveal which 1267 Committee member has blocked the 
delisting request (i.e. the U.S.).  This move, by formally 
handing it over to the MFA, will allow the GOI to keep 
deliberations at the UN in confidence. 
 
¶4. (C) Collura said that the GOI passed to the 1267 Committee 
another request for Mr. Nada's appeal, but they will tell the 
lawyer that the MFA will be handling foreign policy matters, 
i.e. it is out of the FSC's hands. Concerning Himmat, Collura 
said that they will inform his lawyer that Italy supported 
his delisting case, but that the matter is also now being 
handled by the Foreign Ministry. Econoff spoke with MFA 
Counterterrorism Officer Jessica Cuppelini who confirmed the 
decision and noted that the MFA is aware that the USG will 
likely veto any further requests for delisting at the 1267 
Committee.  In a separate conversation, MFA Proliferation 
Finance Head Gianluca Alberini said that the Italian MFA 
understood that the second request to the 1267 Committee for 
Nada would be automatically rejected, however he made clear 
that the FSC felt they had to act in this matter to comply 
with their domestic legal obligations. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment: The GOI appears to have arrived at a workable 
(and very Italian) solution that satisfies domestic judicial 
obligations regarding the right of Nada and Himmat to appeal 
their case and still preserving diplomatic discretion. The 
 
ROME 00000711  002 OF 002 
 
 
FSC remains the competent authority on listing and delisting 
cases. But, because the MFA sits on the committee, they 
likely felt that their role on the committee was not 
protected.  The new policy gives the MFA the power to 
implement delisting and listing cases with discretion.  While 
this may seem to be a minor technicality, our contacts were 
concerned just how far Nada and Himmat's lawyers would take 
their information requests.  Collura was careful to stress 
that all FSC decisions are unanimous and the MFA will follow 
FSC policy instructions.  However, after a little pressing, 
Collura conceded that the MFA may have some flexibility on 
this matter, which may prove helpful in future delisting 
cases.  Most importantly, Italian diplomatic negotiations, 
for now, have been shielded from appeals by Nada and Himmat's 
lawyers, and Italian-U.S. terrorist financing cooperation can 
proceed apace.  End comment. 
SPOGLI