*EPF205 07/09/2002
Text: U.S. Relaxes Money Laundering Scrutiny for Three Countries
(Improved enforcement cited for Israel, Lebanon, St. Kitts) (300)

The United States has relaxed scrutiny of U.S. financial transactions with Israel, Lebanon and St. Kitts and Nevis, the Treasury Department says.

In a July 8 press release, the department said the governments of those three countries had made progress in fighting money laundering. The department noted that the 30-country Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which leads the international charge against money laundering, dropped the three countries from its list of non-cooperative countries in June.

In line with the FATF action, the department said, its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was lifting a 2000 order to U.S. financial institutions requiring the higher level of scrutiny.

Following is the text of the press release:

(begin text)

July 8, 2002

U.S. Lifts Financial Advisories on Israel, Lebanon and St. Kitts & Nevis

In June of 2000 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) included Israel, Lebanon, and St. Kitts & Nevis on its list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT list). (A complete list of NCCT countries can be found at www.fatf-gafi.org/.) The U.S. responded to FATF's action by issuing FinCEN Advisories in July 2000 recommending that U.S. financial institutions give enhanced scrutiny to transactions involving these jurisdictions. Since that time these jurisdictions have made impressive progress in enacting comprehensive anti-money laundering legislation and have taken significant steps to implement their new anti-money laundering regimes. In response to this progress, FATF removed these three countries from the NCCT list last month. Today, FinCEN notified U.S. financial institutions that, based on the improvements in their anti-money laundering regimes and on the FATF action, the U.S. is withdrawing the FinCEN Advisories on Israel, Lebanon, and St. Kitts & Nevis.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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