Terror funding tracking agency a 'black hole'

Suspicious transactions reported by Canadian financial institutions routinely go into a "black hole" where nothing is done about them, a report tabled at the Air India inquiry suggested Wednesday.
The research tabled at the inquiry into the 1985 Air India disaster says security agencies give banks, credit unions, the insurance industry and others little feedback on their efforts to report shady money dealings, including suspected terrorist financing activities.
Compiled by consultants Deloitte and Touche, the report says as much as $256 million each year may be leaving Canada to finance terror activities around the world.
The Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the federal body that traces illicit cash transfers, is considered "the big black hole," said the study. FINTRAC tracks financial data linked to suspected money laundering and terrorist activities financing.
Despite years of tracking, there hasn't been a single conviction.
The report says there is concern that laws governing FINTRAC, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP may prevent these agencies from providing detailed followup briefings to the financial institutions that send them information about cash dealings possibly linked to violent extremism.
During Wednesday's testimony, one expert said the banks are tired of reporting suspicious transactions without seeing any action taken.
10/10/07 CBC British Columbia, Canada

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air India - International Oct 2007, Foreign Oct 2007, Safety Oct 2007