Counterterrorism Financial Enforcement Produces Litigation and Controversy

As the effort to take enforcement action against counterterrorism financing proceeds, some targets and governments are resisting. In Britain, Yassin Kadi, also known as Yasin al-Qadi, brought a legal challenge against the British Government in the High Court in London. A saudi Arabian Businessman, Kadi is challenging the U.K. and U.S. Government efforts to freeze his assets after linking him to Osama bin Laden?s al Qaeda network. On October 12, 2001, the U.S. and U.K. Governments published a list of persons with suspected terrorist ties. Mr. Kadi was on the list. Meanwhile countries in which terrorist funds may be frozen may not be unfrozen without legal actions proving that the funds are the instrumentalities and/or proceeds of crime. For instance, in Switzerland funds are frozen and tied up for decades because governments allege such funds are the proceeds of crime. However, in cases the governments requesting the freezing action are unable to ultimately win criminal cases and show that the funds are actually proceeds of crime.