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OPERATIONSOperation CornerstoneA New Financial Investigations
ProgramIn July of 2003, Secretary Ridge announced Operation
Cornerstone, a new financialinvestigations initiative that will not
on ly prosecute m oney laundering crimes but will initiate anew
approach of working with the private sector to shore up potential
weaknesses in financialsystems.Launched by U.S. Im migration and C
ustoms Enforcem ent (ICE), Operation Cornerstone is ICE'spremier
financial crime program that seeks to identify vulnerabilities in
financial systemsthrough w hich criminals launder their illicit
proceeds, bring the criminals to justice, eliminate
thevulnerabilities, and develop a working partnership with industry
representatives to shareinformation and close industry-wide
security gaps that could be exploited by money launderersan d other
criminal organizations."Safeguarding the integrity of America's
financial systems is a key part of homelan d security,"said
Secretary Ridge. "Criminal organizations are seeking new ways to
finance their operations,an d the Department of Homeland Security
is mov ing aggressively to identify vulnerabilitieswithin U.S.
financial systems that could be exploited to those ends."DHS is
also conducting joint outreach and training programs for m embers
of the financial andtrade commun ities. As part of the Cornerstone
Program , ICE has created a unit solely dedicatedto providing
training to the private sector on how to identify an d prevent
exploitation by criminalorganizations.Also, under the SH AR E
(Systematic Homeland Approach to Reducing Exploitation)
program,officials from the ICE will be joined by the Secret Service
to jointly conduct semi-annualmeetings with executive members of
the financial and trade com mun ities impacted by mo neylaundering,
identity theft, an d other financial crimes, to share data on
specific investigativeoutcomes from investigations into money
laundering, identity theft, and other financial crimesCornerstone
priorities:
Identify and assess themeans and methods used by criminals to
exploit financial systemsin order to transfer, launder and
otherwise mask the true source of criminal proceeds. Work with
specific private sector industries to gather new information and
reducevulnerabilities found within existing financial systems.
Assign a dedicated special agent to each of the 25 IC E field
offices to liaison with theprivate sector. Investigate andprosecute
criminal organizations exploiting emerging traditional and
non-traditional financial systems. Work w ith financial institution
security teams to help them un derstand how criminalorganizations
exploited financial systems in their industry.
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Task force on terror funding moved from Customs - TheWashington
Times Page 1 of 2
The W ashington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com
Task force on terror funding m oved from CustomsBy Jerry
SeperPubl i s hed September 16, 2003
A White Hou se-backed decision to mo ve the nation's most suc
cessful terrorist-relatedfinancial crimes task force from the
Customs Service to the FBI has drawn criticism fromlaw enforcement
authorities who say the bureau can't effectively conduct the
complexfinancial investigations.Created in the w ake of the
September 11 attacks, "Operation Green Quest" broughttogether the
top financial investigators from the Treasury De partment, Internal
Reven ueService, Secret Service an d Customs to target the systems,
organizations an d people servingfunders of terrorist groups
worldwide.Green Quest, which mad e 79 arrests and seized more than
$33 million in a 19-monthperiod, was designed to harness the
investigative financial expertise o f the TreasuryDepartment to
freeze accounts, seize assets and bring criminal actions against
those fundingterrorism."These are inc redibly confusing and com
plex cases, and a succe ssful prosecution requiresinvestigators
with years of experience and expertise," said a top Treasury
official who askednot to be ide ntified. "Whatever the rationale to
move Green Q uest to the FB I, it 's clearsomebody never heard the
old adage: If it's not broken, don't fix it."Other veteran agents
familiar with the task force said the FBI's grab of the
programjeopardized several ongoing investigations.The task force's
demise was authorized M ay 13 when Attorney General John Ashcroftan
d Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge signed a "memorandum of
agreement" givingGreen Quest's duties to the FBI. The memo ,
approved by President Bu sh, designated theFB I as the lead agency
in the investigation of terrorist financing.The memo specifically
barred further use o f the name "Green Quest."The new Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which had been toutedas
the investigative arm of Hom eland Security, was removed entirely
from terrorist-financing investigations. Instead, it was given
"Operation Cornerstone," a program thatidentifies vulnerabilities
in financial systems through which mo ney cou ld be laundered.Bu t,
the memo says, when ICE agents discover terrorism-related ties,
they must turn theprobe over to the FBI.Ironically, the decision to
give the FB I control of Green Quest came at a time thatCustoms
Commissioner Robert C. Bonner, who created the task force, was
looking todouble the number of intelligence analysts assigned,
expand the program throughout thecountry and open Green Q uest
offices in the M iddle East and Eu rope.In January, Mr. Bonner, who
now heads the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection(CBP), told
The Washington Times the task force had "hit its stride" with more
than 600active investigations and it was "time to expand" to c
apitalize o n what he thoug ht wou ld bea successful effort to
target secret financial organizations here and abroad on
whichterrorists rely to raise funds to com mit new attacks.
http://dynamic.washtimes.com/print_story.cfm?StoryID=20030915-103759-9265r
9/29/03
