t4 b18 correspondence fdr- correspondence w the sec and withdrawal notice for memo

8/14/2019 T4 B18 Correspondence Fdr- Correspondence w the SEC and Withdrawal Notice for Memo

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H. Ke a n

H. H am i l t onC H A I R

Ben-VenisteCleland

F. FieldingS. GorelickGor ton

F. L e h m a nRoemer

R . Thompson

D. ZelikowD I R E C T O R

July 16 , 2003Richard M . Hum es, Associate General C ounselSecurities an d Exchange Commission450 Fifth Street, N.W.Washington, D .C . 20549Dear M r. Humes:

As you know, the Commission sent a document request to the SE Cnearly a month ago, on June 19, 2003, entitled SE C Document Request No. 1.That request asks for copies of investigative and other no n-public files of theSE C relating to the SEC's investigation into any trading activity designed toprofit from, or to avoid losses from, the September 11, 2001 attacks. Thisrequest was made in connection with the Commission's statutory mandate,pursuant to Public Law 107-306, to investigate the facts an d circumstancessurrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including the nation'spreparedne ss f or, and imm ediate response to, those attacks, as well as toevaluate the lessons learned from those attacks and to make recomm endationsfo r preventing future attacks.

W e understand that the files in this matter contain "financial records"of "customers," as those terms are define d in the Right to Financial P rivacyAct of 1978, 12 U.S.C. sees. 3401-3422. W e have reason to believe that thatinformation is relevant to our investigation.

We will establish and m aintain such safeguards as are necessary andappropriate to protect the conf iden tiality of files to which access is granted,an d information derived there from . The files an d information may, however,be used by the Commission for the purposes se t forth in Public Law 107-306.W e look forward to prompt receipt of the requested documents . If youhave an y questions abou t this m atter, please call me right away at 33 1-4065.

JYours sincerely

)aniel M arcusGeneral C ounselcc: John Knepper, U .S. D epartment of Justice

301 7'h Street SW, Room 5125Washington, DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9- 1 l c o m m i s s i o n . g o v


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DRAFT July 22, 2003Daniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Com mission on Terrorist A ttacks Upon the Un ited States301 7th Street SW , Room 5125Washington, D.C. 20407

Re: Securities and Exchange Comm issionDear Mr. Marcus:

This will confirm my conversation of today with M r. Greenburg of your staff regarding theaccess request that the 9/11 Com mission has made to the SEC. Specifically, we agreed that the9/11 Comm ission would notify the SEC if the records we produce are requested by privateparties and wou ld give the SEC advance notice if the 9/11 Comm ission determines to publiclydisclose th e SEC's records.

Sincerely,

Richard M . HumesAssociate General Counsel

cc: John Knepper, DOJ


3/17

UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASH INGTON , DC. 2O549OFFICE OF THEGENERAL COUNSEL

July 22,2003

Daniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.301 7th Street SW, Room 5125Washington, D.C. 20407

Dear Mr. Marcus:Re: Securities and Exchange Commission

This will confirm my conversation of today with Mr. Greenburg of your staff regarding theaccess request that the 9/11 Commission has made to the SEC. Specifically, we agreed that the9/11 Commission would notify the SEC if the documents we produce are requested by privateparties and would give the SEC advance notice if the 9/11 Commission determines to publiclydisclose the SEC's documents.

SinCferely,

Richard M. HumesAssociate General Counsel

cc: John Knepper, DOJ


4/17


W A S H I N G T O N , D . C . 2O549OFFICE OF THEGENERAL COUNSEL

July 30, 2003BY HAND DELIVERYDaniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States301 7th Street S W, Room 5125Washington, D.C. 20407

Re: Securities an d Exchange CommissionDear M r. Marcus:

Enclosed is a copy of the document responsive to the 9/11 Commission's access requestto the Securities and Excha nge Com mission ("SEC"). The responsive docum ent is anInformation Memorandum, dated May 15, 2002, from the Division of Enforcemen t to the SECChairman and Comm issioners with Exhibits A through F. The Information M emorandumcontains a list of the exhibits.Sincerely,

(Wc"Richard M. HumesAssociate General C ounsel

cc w/o enclosures: John Knepper, D OJ


6/17

W E D 17:27F AX 202 942 9537 G C G E N L IT i]002

UNITEDSTATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON.D.C. 2O5A9OFFICE OF THE

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L

October 15,2003Via Facsimile and Mail

Daniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States3017* St. SW, Room 5125Washington, DC 20407202-296-5545 (facsimile)Dear Mr. Marcus:I amwriting to memorialize a telephone call I had with Doug Greenburg on 10 October 2003.Staff from the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Office of International Affairswere also on the telephone call. That telephone call concerned your 26 September 2003 requestfor documents relating to the investigation by the SEC into trading activity potentially designedto profit from, or avoid losses from, the 11 September terrorist attacks ("SEC Document RequestNo. 2"). Specifically, you asked for information received from any foreign government agencyor entity.A review of our files revealed that information responsive to SECDocument Request No. 2includes non-public information we received from foreign securities authorities pursuant to ourbilateral Memoranda of Understanding and other information-sharing arrangements. As wediscussed with Mr. Greenburg, we requested non-public information from foreign securitiesauthorities pursuant to these MOUs, which have standard provisions on use and confidentialityof information (see MOUs previously sent to Mr. Greenburg).Non-public information provided to us under these MOUs is generally subject to limitations ondisclosure in the jurisdiction of the requested authority. In this regard, the foreign securitiesauthorities provide non-public information to us with the understanding that the information'suse would be limited to enforcing the federal statutes administered by the SEC (e.g., bringingcivil and administrative proceedings, and assisting in a criminal prosecution of securities relatedoffenses). If the information is used for any other purpose, we are obliged pursuant to the MOUsto "inform the [foreign securities authority] of [the SEC's] intention and provide the [foreignsecurities authority] the opportunity to oppose such use." (See, for example, Clause 7 of theMO U with the Australian Securities Commission; Section 5 of the MOU with the GermanBundesaufsichtsamt fur den Wertpapierhandel; and Part V of the MOU with the UK Securitiesand Investments Board.)


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03 WED 17:27 FAX 202 942 9537 GC GEN LIT i]003

At the time we made our requests for assistance to the foreign securities authorities, the NationalCommission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ("NCTA") had not yet been created,and our requests did not contemplate that the information would be used for the purposes set outin the NCTA's mandate. We are under an obligation to inform the foreign securities authoritiesof the NCTA's request and seek their consent under the MOU prior to any disclosure of theinformation.We understand the critical need for the NCTA to have this information, and anticipate that ourcounterparts will appreciate the importance of the NCTA's investigation. We propose to obtaintheir consent as expeditiously as possible. This process also will enable us to honor ourcommitments and to preserve our relationship with our counterparts so that we can continue toobtain effective and prompt cooperation in connection with the investigation and prosecution ofviolations of the federal securities laws.Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter further. We will bein touch with you to update you on the progress of our discussions with our foreign counterparts.

Very truly yours,

Melinda HardyAssistant General Counsel202-942-0877

cc: Doug GxeenburgEthiopis TafaraDirector, SEC Office of International Affairs


8/17

H. Kean

ee H. Hamiltoni chard Ben-Venisteax Cleland

F. FieldingS. GorelickGorton

F. LehmanJ. Roe me r

R. Thompson

D. ZelikowD I R E C T O R

VIA FACSIMILE

October 16, 2003M r. Giovanni P. PreziosoGeneral C ounselSecurities and E xchang e C omm ission450 Fifth Street, N.W .Washington, D .C . 20549Dear Mr. Prezioso:I am writing in response to M elinda Ha rdy's letter of October 15, 2003, whichconcerned our request for reports of investigations into pre-9/11 trading theSE C received from foreign g overnments. Ms. Hardy's letter stated the SEC'sposition that the M emorandum s of U nderstanding (M O U s) pursuant to whichthe SEC received these reports prohibit their disclosure to our C ommissionwithout consent of the governments of origin. Upon review of the M O U sprovided as examples by the SE C , we disagree w ith this interpretation andrequest that the SE C reconsider it.In our view, the M O U s at issue plainly allow the reports to be shared w ith ourC ommission. For example, the MO U with Germany allows informationreceived thereunder to be used as follows:

(a) for the purpose stated in the request with respect to ensuringcompliance with, or enforcement of, the laws or regulations ofthe requesting A uthority .. . and

(b) for purposes within the general framework of the use stated inthe request, including conducting a civil or administrativeproceeding, assisting in a self-regulatory organization'ssurveillance or enforce men t activities, assisting in a criminalprosecution, or conducting any investigation related thereto fo rany criminal charge applicable to the violation of theprovisions specified in the request.

301 7lh Street SW, Room 5125Washington, DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9-1lcommission.gov


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Mr. Giovanni P. PreziosoOctober 16, 2003Page 2As you know, our C omm ission has been tasked by Congress w ithinvestigating all facts and circumstances related to the 9/11 attacks, a mandatewhich includes any effort to profit from those attacks through illicit securitiestrading activity. Our investigation of "insider trading" in advance of 9/11 fallssquarely within the "general framework of the use" for which the informationwas provided - investigating illegal trading bypersons with knowledge oftheterrorist attacks. Indeed, we do not agree with the position that a foreigngovernment would allow its information to be used by a self-regulatoryorganization - a non-governm ent actor to conduct "surveillance activities"related to insider trading, bu t would deny the same right to a federalCom mission tasked by Congress and the President to investigate the sameillicit trading. The SEC's contrary interpretation appears to rest on a woodenand restrictive reading of the MOUs.We cannot agree with the SEC's position that we are not entitled to theinformation because our Commission "had not yet been created" at the time ofthe SEC's requests for information. This fact is irrelevant under the MOUs,which do not designate specific entities which can receive the information.Instead, they allow sharing of the information "for purposes within the generalframework" of the request. Webelieve that our investigation of insidertrading in advance of 9/11 falls directly within this general framework.We are sensitive to the need for the SEC to maintain strong relations with itsforeign counterparts. In the course of our investigation, we have often soughtextremely sensitive information that departm ents and agencies of the U.S.government have received from foreign sources. Much of this informationconcerned vital matters of national security obtained from foreign lawenforcement and intelligence agencies. Every other agency from whom wehave sought such information has found a way to provide it to us withoutcompromising its relations with its foreign counterparts. We hope and expectthe SEC can do the same, and our reading of the MOUs suggests no reasonany foreign government w ould object to our receiving the information.Although we appreciate the SEC's stated efforts to obtain the relevantconsents, we fear the delays inherent in the process m ay prevent the necessary


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>

Mr. G iovanni P. PreziosoOctober 16, 2003PageSapprovals from being received in time for us to fulfill ou r statutory mandate.For this reason, I urge you to reconsider your position and mak e the reportsavailable to us immediately.Please feel free to contact me to discuss this matter further.Sincerely,

Janiel MarcusGeneral Counselcc: Richard Hum es, Esq.Melinda Hardy, Esq.


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X5^22/03 WED 17:14 FAX 202 942 9537 GC GEN LIT 002

UNITEDSTATESSECURITIESANDEXCHANGECOMMISSION

WASHINGTON. D.C. 2O5A9OFFICE OF THE

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L _ , ~,nniOctober 22,2003

Via Facsimile andMail(202) 296-5545

Daniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States3017th Street SW, Room 5125Washington, DC 20407Dear Mr. Marcus:

I amwriting to follow up on your letter of October 16,2003, and to confirm myunderstanding of the approach that the Commission staff will be taking regarding thematter addressed in the letter (Item No. 2 of SECDocument Request No. 2). Asdiscussed with Doug Greenburg of your staff, we are in the process of asking the foreignregulators from whom we received reports to authorize us to disclose those reports toyou. The staff of the Commission's O ff ice of International Affairs is advising the foreignregulators that if they do not object by October 24, 2003, SEC staff will provide therequested materials to the 9-11 Commission. It is possible, of course, that foreignregulators will want further information regarding the 9-11 Commission or will proposeterms or circumstances fo r disclosure of their documents to the Commission. W e willkeep Mr. Greenburg abreast of any such developments and will seek to resolve anyobjections promptly.

We appreciate the efforts of you and your staff to seek a constructive approach toresolving this matter consistent with the various important policy objectives that must betaken into account Please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 942-0900 if you shouldhave any questions orwould like to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely yours,

\iPreziosocc: Doug Greenburg

Counsel, National Commission on Terrorist AttacksEthiopis TafaraDirector, S E C Office of International Affairs


12/17

WITH D R A W A L N O T I C ERG: 148Box: 00007 Folder: 0018 Document: 11Series: Team 4 FilesCopies: 1 Pages: 1

ACCESS RESTRICTEDThe item identified below has been withdrawn from this file:

Folder Title: CorrespondenceDocument Date:Document Type: MemorandumSpecial Media:From:To:

Subject: memo from FBI to Doug Greenburg re San Diego interview request

In the review of this file this item was removed because access to it isrestricted. Restrictions on records in the National Archives are stated ingeneral and specific record group restriction statements which are availablefo r examination.

NND:401Withdrawn: 10-23-2008 by:RETRIEVAL #: 401 00007 0018 11System DocID: 5206 I


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WASHINGTON, D.C. 3O549OFFICE OF THEG E N E R A L . COUNSEL.

November 4, 2003BY HAND DELIVERYDaniel MarcusGeneral CounselNational Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States301 7th Street SW, Room 5125Washington, D.C. 20407

Re: SEC Docum ent Request No. 2Dear Mr. Marcus:

Enclosed are copies of docum ents (including a CD containing the MaST database)responsive to the 9-11 Commission's second docum ent request to the S ecurities and ExchangeCo mm ission. As we discussed, with respect to your request for written reports or summ ariesfrom foreign governm ent agencies, most of the responsive m aterials are enclosed. Included withthis grou p of materials is a letter from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission("ASIC") authorizing us to produce responsive materials and requesting that we forward ASIC'sletter to you. Responsive documents from three countries are not enclosed. W e have agreed tomake documents from one of those countries (Japan) available for you to review at our office atyour convenience. We are still awaiting final responses from two other countries (the UnitedKingdom and Italy); as we d iscussed, we are hopeful that we will soon be able to makeresponsive documents from these countries available fo r your review.

Sincerely,(It*

Melinda HardyAssistant General CounselEnclosures


14/17

Unclassified

MemorandumTo: Pat O'B rienFrom: Doug G reenburgDate: February 11 , 2004Re: UA E Article

Per our discussion, attached is the 1/17/04 A P article quoting Sultan bin Nasser al-Suweidi. The key quotes are on the second page.

Unclassified


15/17

WSJ.com - Dubai Banks Remain Focus Of Terror Funding Investigation Page 1 of 3

T H E W A L L S T R E E TQ M L I ftJanuary 17, 2004 7:47 p.m.EST

Dubai Banks Remain Focus Of Terror Funding InvestigationD OW JONES N E W S W IR E S

DUBAI (AP)--Banks in this financial hub of the Arab world remain a key focus in the worldwideinvestigation of terror funding despite moves to tighten reporting rules, freeze accounts andcontrol informal money transfers, U.S. and Arab officials told The Associated Press.The reason: Dubai's history of shady transactions and the difficulty of tracking a matrix of legaland illegal free trade.About half the $250,000 spent on the Sept. 11 attacks was wired to al-Qaida terrorists in the U.S.from Dubai banks, said officials of the U.S. Treasury and Central Bank of the United ArabEmirates.Al-Qaida money in Dubai banks also has been linked to the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings inKenya and Tanzania blamed on Osama bin Laden.In addition, before Saddam Hussein's ouster, this Persian Gulf emirate was a favorite transit pointfor smugglers sneaking past U.S.-led naval patrols enforcing U.N. trade sanctions. And it wasthrough Dubai that Russian arms dealers supplied bin Laden's Taliban backers in Afghanistanbefore the U.S.-led war ousted their Islamic government, officials say.

DOW JONES REPRINTS

( This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to yourcolleagues, clients or customers,use the Order Reprints tool at the bottomof any article or visit: www.djreprints.com. See asample reprint in PDF format Order a reprint of this article now.

Sultan bin Nasser al-Suweidi, head of the Central Bank, told AP that financial officials areworking closely with the U.S. government to block terror funding. Central Bank officials havetrained with U.S. investigators and other international experts to help them identify moneylaunderers and suspicious transactions, he said."We don't want wrongdoers. We totally don't need them," said the U.S.-educated al-Suweidi, whoarrives at his office before 8 a.m. and is often seen working until 10 at night in the fortress-likeCentral Bank headquarters in the Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.Banks in Dubai, which were not required to report incoming transfers of less than $55,000 beforethe Sept. 11 attacks, must now tell the Central Bank about any transfer of more $11,000, al-Suweidi said.

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,BT_CO_20040117_000209,00.html 2/5/2004


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WSJ.com - Dubai Bank s Remain Focus Of Terror Funding Investigation Page 2 of 3

One of the Central Bank's greatest challenges, however, has been to regulate an informal systemof money transfer known as hawala in which a person takes in money at one end, then instructs anagent in another country to hand a like amount to a beneficiary.Widely used by m igrant workers in Dubai and the rest of the Persian Gulf, hawala operatorstransfer money without a paper trail, raising suspicions the system could be abused by terroristswanting to move money around.In the Emirates, hawala operators hav e been ordered to register with the Central Bank and toreport transfers larger than $550, although al-Suweidi conceded that not all the dozens ofoperators had come forward.So far, there's no evidence the Sept. 11 plotters used hawala to transfer money, instead operatingthrough conventional banks.

~ 7For example, a year before the Sept. 11 attacks, the United A rab Emirates reported to U.S. /officials a transfer of $69,985 from a Dubai bank to an account in the U.S. held by Marwan Al- /Shehhi and M ohamed A tta, al-Suweidi said. The names meant little then but they turned out be /among the suicide hijackers. /U.S. authorities took no action, al-Suweidi said, with little to differentiate that transfer fromthousands o f others each day, even though it exceeded the $1 0,000 ceiling of U.S. reportingrequirements.Al-Suweidi points to that overlooked transaction as an illustration of the difficulties faced bybanking officials in the United Arab Emirates."I don't want to apportion blame because we must all work together on fighting terrorism," al-Suweidi said. He added, however, that if U.S. investigators were "unable to predict that thetransaction w as wrong when it was reported, how can they depend on us?"Cutting off terrorists' funds is a key component of U.S. President George W . Bush's antiterrorismstrategy. And Dubai remains a focus of U.S. efforts to stop the financing of terror along with otherbanking capitals, said a U.S. Treasury official in Washington, speaking on condition ofanonymity."There are opportunities for people to use those facilities for nefarious ends - terrorist financing,drug trafficking, money-laundering, or general fraud," the official told AP. "...We certainly dothink there still is activity under way in the region and certainly activity that affects Dubai that weare interested in and we are looking at."The Emirates Central Bank has frozen 18 suspected terrorist accounts with a total value of m orethan $3 million, and provided info rmation to international organizations in 14 terror financingcases, al-Suweidi said.The frozen accounts include those of Somali businessman Ahmed Nur Ali Jim'ale, whose al-Barakaat group of companies is under investigation by U.S. authorities for suspected dealingswith al-Qaida.Other frozen accounts belonged to Al-Shehhi, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers from the Emirates, and

http://online.wsj .com/article_print/0,,BT_CO_20040117_000209,00.html 2/5/2004


17/17

DougGreenburgFrom:Sent:To:Subject:

dwise @ gordonsimmons.comWednesday, April 07, 2004 4:48 PMDoug GreenburgGlobal Relief Foundation

Dear Mr. Greenburg:I am in receipt of your e-mail of yesterday's date pertaining to GlobalRelief Foundation, Inc. ("GRF") and its experiences in the wake of the 9-11

tragedy. I am certainly grateful for an opportunity to present GRF's pointof view and to relate my own personal experiences in representing thisMuslim charity in the wake of 9-11. I believe that GRF has a unique storyto tell and can provide some insight that would be highly relevant to anyfuture efforts by our country to deal with terror or financing of terrorthat should be considered.

More than two years ago, GRF was put out of business and the organizationdestroyed in its entirety without any public evidence of wrongdoing otherthan having raised money for and delivering aid to Muslim populations indire need around the world.

As we have discussed, I will appear at your offices, 501 - 7th Street,S.W., Room 5125, Washington, D.C., next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., and spendapproximately an hour and a half with your representatives. After you andyour staff hear what I have to say, perhaps the whole Commission will beinterested in GRF's experiences. Again, I appreciate your personalwillingness to hear the experiences of my client. This comes at apropitious time as we will soon be filing the latest round of briefs in theFederal Court in Chicago in our efforts to finally get a day in court.

If GRF were to be given an opportunity to be heard, the Commission wouldhear of a wonderfully good-hearted organization that operated efficientlyand effectively to deliver benefits to needy populations in more than 20countries around the world. Because this organization was operated here inthe US, it created uniquely good public relations for the US in Muslimpopulations around the world. Conversely, the arbitrary destruction of GRFin Decemer 2001, sent a message to tens of thousands of US Muslims thattheir monetary help in troubled areas around the world was not wanted, notappreciated and was actually illegal. This tragedy for our country hasbeen compounded by the fact that tens of thousands of hours of FBI,Treasury, Justice and State Department personnel time has been invested insifting, unaided by GRF personnel, through thousands of pages of documentswhich proved to be wholly wasted efforts because GRF was never involved inaiding or financing terror in any form.Sincerely,Roger C. Simmons

t4 b18 correspondence fdr- correspondence w the sec and withdrawal notice for memo

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