Bank Secrecy and Compliance Officer Clearances
By Douglas Farah
Brett Wallace, who generously does the CTB links and helps keep us running, has written an interesting graduate studies paper Banks Are Not Mere Bystanders_Wallace.pdf, drawing on his own research as well as the thoughts and experiences of several CTB contributors on the need to give bank compliance officers clearances to help in tracking the flow of terrorist funds.
He argues that banks have financial information about their customers, but they lack the intelligence and criminal record information that law enforcement is privy to. Law enforcement may have substantial intelligence and investigative data, but lack the raw financial records of their targets. Essentially, the problem lies in information exchange, and establishing a framework of partnership that produces actionable financial intelligence without compromising either privacy or national security...the best way to address counterterrorism finance and get closer to that holy grail of cooperation is to grant security clearances to bank compliance officers. Enjoy.
