Carper Committee Passes Legilastion to Curb Sources of Terrorists’ Funding

WASHINGTON, DC -Senator Tom Carper announced that the global financial networks and money laundering efforts that support terrorist activity would be curbed under a bill that passed through his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee today. “The attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon were well planned and well funded. We must stop at the source the flow of resources to these terrorists,” Carper said. “The financial network that funds our attackers is a threat to our national security.” The Senate Banking Committee passed by a unanimous vote of 21-0 bipartisan legislation to attack the financial infrastructure of terrorists and other criminals. The bill would give the Treasury Secretary broad discretion to impose special measures against foreign jurisdictions and entities that the Treasury determines to be a “primary money laundering concern.” “We must fight this war on many fronts – by strengthening our own air, rail and road security, by finding these terrorists and bringing them to justice, and by ending the money laundering that keeps their operations up and running,” Carper said. “These simple banking reforms will give our government greater insight into our attackers’ financial future.” The special measures include more strict guidelines for record keeping and reporting; heightened security surrounding US bank accounts; and restricting or prohibiting the opening of certain accounts that can be easily used for money laundering purposes. The Senate and President are committed to working with financial institutions in other nations to track potential money laundering for terrorist as well.