$50-$60 Billion Laundered from US nonprofits into illegal West Bank colonies creates threat of backlash

Documents

The following document case file reveals the failure of US law enforcement agencies to act on credible, specific public and private allegations that up to $60 billion has been laundered from the United States into illegal colonization of the West Bank. The US national security interest in averting another 9/11style attack motivated by this type of ongoing illegal activity continues to be high. The Jewish Agency was identified in the 1960's as a source of $35 million illegally laundered into the United States for stealth grassroots action, PR and lobbying. In 2005 the Jewish Agency was again identified at the center of an international money laundering ring—building settlements that are illegal, according to Israeli prosecutor Talia Sasson. Jewish Agency laundering was shut down during Senate and DOJ investigations during the 1960s. The Jewish Agency - American Section itself was shuttered after the DOJ forced it to register its covenant agreement revealing it as an agent of the Israeli government in 1969. But since the flow of funds has now reversed, the US Department of Justice and Treasury Department would have to either confront individual persons and entities channeling funds toward illegal ends, or their financial consolidation points. This would occur only if both agencies have escaped regulatory capture and are free to actively pursue the enforcement of US law.

DOJ and Treasury response to US Nonprofit Money Laundering to the West Bank

Document/File Date	Contents
1970	The US passes the "Bank Secrecy Act of 1970" or "Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act" which requires US financial institutions to detect, report and prevent money laundering.
1989	The Financial Action Task Force on money laundering (FATF) is established by a G-7 Summit in Paris in 1989. It defines money laundering as actions such as false accounting, misuse and misdirection of legitimate funds toward illegal ends.
10/26/2001	The USA Patriot Act establishes targeted mechanisms for interrupting financial flows used by terrorists.
06/22/2004	The 9/11 Commission Report finds US policy toward Israel was a major motivator of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. Page 147: "By his own account, KSM's [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] animus toward the United States stemmed not from his own experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel."
07/21/2004	Responding to heavy AIPAC lobbying the White House creates a new "Terrorism and Financial Intelligence" office at the US Treasury Department toward "countering threats to U.S. national security and protecting the international financial system from abuse."
03/05/2005	The former head of the State Prosecution Criminal Department Talia Sasson delivers an Israeli government commissioned report (Summary) that finds quasi government bodies diverted funds to establish West Bank colonies that are illegal under Israeli and international law.
03/18/2005	The Jewish Daily Forward reports that US nonprofit organizations are directly tied to entities involved in illegal settlement money laundering: "Hadassah, B'nai B'rith, and offshoots of the Reform and Conservative movements. American groups control 30% of the organization's main governing bodies, including the World Zionist Congress which is convened in Jerusalem every four years." The report also mentions the Jewish Agency being in charge of a $420 million network of programs funded by overseas charities and at the center of illegal settlement financing.
05/01/2005	University of Chicago researcher Robert A. Pape compiles a database of 315 suicide terrorism campaigns around the world from 1980 through 2003, and 462 individual suicide terrorists. He finds that the major motivation of such attacks was "to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland."
8/14/2005	A USA Today article "No one knows full costs of Israel's settlement ambitions" reports upper limit of money laundering at $60 billion while raising questions over US tax exemptions and stealth AIPAC lobbying for reduced aid penalties on activity: "Vice Premier Shimon Peres estimates Israel has spent about $50 billion since 1977, when the hard-line Likud government took over from his Labor party. Other former finance ministers and government officials don't discount a price tag — commonly floated but never documented — of $60 billion..." "Israel's effort since the 1967 Mideast war to fill the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Jews has grown from the scattered actions of zealous squatters into a network of 142 towns and villages that house nearly 240,000 people...." "In 2003, when Israel was granted $9 billion in loan guarantees over three years, the cut was $289.5 million. Officials familiar with the issue, and speaking on condition of anonymity, say that low figure was reached with the help of the influential pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)...." "Israel also used private U.S. donations for which it secured U.S. tax-exempt status, said David Newman, a political scientist at Israel's Ben Gurion University who researched settlement funding... " "U.S. tax laws don't exempt donations for political activities such as settlements. Israel separated the World Zionist Organization from the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, a move that allowed donors to inject money into settlements without losing tax exemptions. In reality, the two groups operate under one umbrella, with the same officials, departments and administrators overseeing the activities, Newman said."
10/05/2005	The Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy issues the report "US Tax-Exempt Charitable Contributions to Israel: Donations, Illegal Settlements and Terror Attacks against the US" (PDF) to key American government officials and the public. The report reveals how violence, land theft, and hopelessness generated by nonprofit money laundering fuels terrorism blowback against the United States.
10/14/2005	FBI Director Robert Mueller, US attorney Elliot Spitzer, at the US Department of Treasury Foreign Assets Control official Julia Philip, US Department of Treasury Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime Division head Carlos Zarate are urged to enforce Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45 from US criminal code which prohibits US-West Bank money laundering: "Whoever, within the US, knowingly begins or sets on foot or provides or prepares a means for or furnishes money for, or takes part in, any military or naval expedition or enterprise to be carried on from thence against the territory or dominion of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the US is at peace, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."
11/21/2005	The Council for the National Interest and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy convene a public meeting for the US Department of Justice and US Treasury Department in the Russell Senate Office Building. DOJ officials including Justin Dempsey and David Bose are briefed about how US money laundering toward West Bank settlement is illegal and an indirect generator of terrorism blowback against the United States.
12/7/2005	Barry M. Sabin, Chief of the Counterterrorism Section officially thanks IRmep and confirms commitment of officials sent to the briefing: "We appreciate your hard work in researching links between money laundering and Middle Eastern violence as well as the implications on the security of the United States. As you know, the Department of Justice is very involved in efforts to ensure that tax exempt entities are not involved in funding violence or engaging in other non-charitable functions. Two members of my staff recently attended a briefing given by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy at which you spoke on these issues and obtained a copy of the distributed materials. I also understand an attorney from the Counterterrorism Section has recently been in touch with you regarding your work. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions or concerns."
12/23/2005	IRmep sends a follow-up letter to Barry M. Sabin, Chief of the Counterterrorism Section urging law enforcement: "Many agree with Sasson and IRmep that massive illegal activities are occurring and continue to place America at risk. However, cynics believe that while this activity and connection is easily auditable and could be shut down by applying existing American laws, that nothing will be ever be done about it. They've told me that equal application of US law is not possible in such politically sensitive cases. They've stated what while a hair trigger DOJ response is all but guaranteed upon the slightest evidence of Islamic charity involvement in direct or indirect terrorism generation, that no such tripwire exists for similarly involved Christian, Jewish, or Zionist organizations." "We've reached out to many groups about this indirect terrorism generator because we continue to believe that US justice is blind, and that indirect terrorism generators will soon become a US law enforcement priority. I hope that the DOJ Counterterrorism Section will begin to confront the indirect terrorism generators our research has identified."
2006-2007	Justin Dempsey, the DOJ official designated for follow-up, is transferred to the DOJ's Anti-Trust Division.
12/10/2007	IRmep sends a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information into whether the US Treasury Department is cracking down on indirect terrorism generated by money laundering from the US to the West Bank. The Treasury Department's Terrorism and Financial Intelligence office rejects IRmep's FOIA inquiry under the Bank Secrecy Act. "The statutory provision that specifically exempts records collected under the Bank Secrecy Act from disclosure under the FOIA can be found in Section 5319 of title 31 of the United States Code."
1/24/2008	Internal Revenue Service receives an IRmep criminal complaint about US nonprofit organizations laundering money and benefitting from IRS granted tax exemption, but refuses to comment on enforcement action: "The Internal Revenue Code includes taxpayer privacy provisions enacted by the Congress to protect the privacy of tax returns and tax return information of all taxpayers. Therefore, I cannot comment on what action, if any, we may take regarding the information you provided."
8/25/2008	Reuters reports on US nonprofits that continue to benefit from tax exemptions while raising funds for West Bank colonization. "Despite its stated policy against settlement growth, the United States grants tax-exempt status to organisations that openly raise money to aid Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank."
9/26/2008	New York US Attorney Michael J. Garcia receives a formal criminal complaint on US-Israel charitable money laundering activity in his jurisdiction, but refuses to comment about possible law enforcement action. "We will review the information you have provided, but as a matter of course we do not respond to inquiries regarding intended enforcement actions, if any."