VZCZCXYZ0016
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #2019 3101441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061441Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 8679
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4502
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 5281
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 8224
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 4996
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6604
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002019 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/IPA AND EEB/ESC; TREASURY FOR COREA/PARODI/GRANT; 
AMMAN FOR PARKER; CAIRO FOR ROWE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KTFN KWBG EAID KCRM
SUBJECT: U.S. TREASURY PROVIDES FINANCIAL INVESTIGATION 
TRAINING TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA) POLICE 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 1205 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 1384 
 
 ¶1. (SBU)  Summary: During the week of November 1, U.S. 
Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) provided 
training to 34 Palestinian Authority (PA) employees with 
various responsibilities under the PA's 2007 Anti-Money 
Laundering (AML) decree.  This was the third training course 
on AML offered by OTA in Ramallah since July.  Several PA 
officials attended the opening and closing ceremonies to 
express their appreciation for Treasury training and to 
underscore the PA's committment to combating economic crimes. 
 End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  U.S. Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance 
(OTA) provided training to 34 PA employees with various 
responsibilities under the PA's 2007 AML decree at the 
request of Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor Jihad 
al-Wazir on November 1-5.  Participants in the Financial 
Investigative Techniques Course (FIT) in Ramallah included 
representatives of the PA Civil Police, PA Attorney General's 
Office, PA Customs, the Preventive Security Organization 
(PSO), and the General Intelligence (GI, also known as the 
Muchabarat). 
 
¶3. (SBU)  This was the third training course offered by OTA 
since July 2009 (reftel).  U.S.- and Jordan-based OTA 
advisors provided training in Ramallah to PA employees 
responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial 
crimes.  Participants primarily consisted of police officiers 
from the newly-formed Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption 
Division (ECAC) of the PA Civil Police.  The police were 
joined by investigators from the PSO, GI, and Customs, as 
well as prosecutors from the Attorney General's office.  Due 
to high demand from participating agencies, this was the 
second offering of the FIT course in Ramallah.  The first 
offering in July was attended primarily by prosecutors from 
the ECAC division of the PA Attorney General's Office. 
 
¶4. (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 interviewing; financial profiling and indirect 
methods of proving income; collecting, analyzing and 
presenting financial evidence; case planning and managment; 
report writing; evaluating sources of information; and asset 
forfeiture.  Funding for the workshop was provided from 
Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA) 
funds. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Several local experts augmented lectures and 
practical exercises led by the three OTA advisors.  Financial 
Follow-up Unit Director Riyad Aweidah provided an overview of 
the function and operation of the PA'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 evidentiary standards and discussed 
current PA anti-corruption efforts and authorities.  Arab 
Bank Retail Manager Jamal Hurani presented on banking 
"back-room" operations and internal procedures used to 
identify suspicious transactions.  Participants in the 
training were attentive to lectures and engaged in lively 
discussions during Q & A sessions. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The training course began on November 1 with remarks 
from PMA Governor Al-Wazir and PA Attorney General Ahmad 
al-Moughani.  At the closing of the ceremony, recipients were 
given certificates of completion and heard remarks by PA 
Civil Police Brigadier General Jaber Asfor, PA Attorney 
General al-Moughani and Jerusalem RSO Tim Laas.  In his 
remarks, Attorney General al-Moughani said that the PA needed 
to do more in the future to improve enforcement against 
corruption and economic crimes, in line with the United 
Nations agreement to combat corruption and financial crimes, 
which the PA would join in late November in Qatar. 
 
RUBINSTEIN