Bankers’ ‘anti-terrorism policy’ not working, causing discrimination

This video from the USA is called The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror.

Translated from Metro daily in the Netherlands:

August 30 2013

Banks’ anti-terror program hardly works

Research: The counterterrorism program in Europe causes discrimination and false suspicion, instead of detecting terrorists.

The European banks’ anti-terrorism program, which may cost millions of euros, hardly works. It has so far not proven to lead to detection of terrorists or preventing attacks. But the program may instead cause discrimination and suspicion of the wrong people. Political scientist and geographer Mara Wesseling (33) draws these firm conclusions after intensive research.

“I have spoken with the European Commission and bank employees, and I have read government and consultancy reports over a period of ten years after September 11, 2001,” says Wesseling. Next week she will receive her PhD at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Since 2005 the 3rd European Directive applies to banks and other financial service providers. It states that they will be required to check customers’ ‘suspicious financial transactions’ which indicate terrorism through analysis.

“Banks had to install software for millions of euros, train employees, provide training, also about money laundering. There is hardly any detection of terrorists and prevention of attacks by checking banking transactions, I was told by the European Commission and others.” The assumption is that terrorists behave differently. That is not so. Moreover, attacks cost relatively little money which makes detection difficult. On the other hand, arbitrariness, discrimination, violation of privacy and false arrests threaten, said the political scientist .

“Bank employees determine ultimately, after an initial selection by computer programs, whether a bank customer is a suspect. They decide that on the basis of intuition, among other factors. They then send the personal data of the customer to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), basing themselves on their suspicion. Then there may be further inquiry, without a customer knowing that.”

The European Union is intent nevertheless on expanding detection capabilities through financial transactions further. However, they should sleep on that before doing it, Wesseling concludes.

This major bank slipped up and revealed why women rarely file sex discrimination cases.

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