VZCZCXRO8778
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1384 2221416
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101416Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5697
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001384 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/IPA AND EEB/ESC; TREASURY FOR CORREA/PARODI/GRANT; 
AMMAN FOR PARKER; CAIRO FOR ROWE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PINS KWBG EAID PTER PREL IS KCRM
SUBJECT: U.S. TREASURY PROVIDES FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION 
TRAINING TO PA 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 1205 
 
 ¶1. (SBU)  U.S. Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance 
(OTA) provided training to 23 Palestinian Authority (PA) 
employees with various responsibilities under the PA's 2007 
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Law at the request of Palestine 
Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor Jihad al-Wazir. 
Participants in the Financial Investigative Techniques Course 
(FIT) in Ramallah included representatives of the PA Attorney 
General's Office, the PMA's Financial Follow-up Unit (FFU), 
the Preventive Security Organization (PSO), and the General 
Intelligence (GI, also known as the Muchabarat). 
 
¶2. (SBU)  This was the second training course offered by OTA 
in July 2009 (reftel). Europe- and Jordan-based OTA advisors 
provided training in Ramallah to PA employees responsible for 
investigating and prosecuting financial crimes.  Participants 
primarily consisted of PA prosecutors from the newly-formed 
Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption Division (ECAC) of the 
Attorney General's Office. The prosecutors were joined by 
analysts from the PSO, GI, and FFU. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The week-long course focused on conducting 
investigations of moderate-to-complex financial crimes, such 
as commercial fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Topics 
included case planning and management; financial profiling 
and indirect methods of proving income; collecting, analyzing 
and presenting financial evidence; interviewing; report 
writing; evaluating sources of information; and asset 
forfeiture. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Several local experts augmented lectures and 
practical exercises led by the three OTA advisors.  From the 
PMA, FFU Director Riyad Aweidah provided an overview of the 
function and operation of the PMA's Financial Intelligence 
Unit, and FFU Analyst Firas Murar described various sources 
of financial information that can be obtained by 
investigators.  Chief Prosecutor Salim Jarrar gave an 
overview of the PA's AML law and evidentiary standards. 
Transparency Palestine Director Azmi al-Shoabe covered local 
anti-corruption efforts, and Cairo Amman Bank Assistant 
Regional Manager Izzidin Abu Salameh presented on banking 
"back-room" operations and internal procedures used to 
identify suspicious transactions. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Due to high demand from participating agencies, and 
in order to give the prosecutors' counterparts in the ECAC 
division of the PA civil police an opportunity to 
participate, OTA plans to offer a second FIT course in the 
fall. 
WALLES