AL 2002-4
Advisory Letter
Subject: Financial Action Task Force Guidance for 
         Financial Institutions in Detecting Terrorist 
         Financing
Date:    May 16, 2002

TO:   Chief Executive Officers and Compliance Officers of
      National Banks and Federal Branches, Department and 
      Division Heads, and Examining Personnel


This advisory letter transmits the Financial Action Task 
Force's (FATF) "Guidance for Financial Institutions in 
Detecting Terrorist Financing," dated April 24, 2002.  
The goal of the guidance is to help ensure that financial 
institutions do not unwittingly hide or move terrorist 
funds.  Financial institutions are in a position to 
detect suspicious transactions that, if reported, may 
later prove to be related to terrorist financing.  FATF 
indicates that identifying terrorist financing activity 
is unlikely, absent dealings with known terrorists or 
terrorist organizations.  As a result, financial 
institutions should focus on ascertaining whether 
transactions are unusual, suspicious, or otherwise 
indicative of criminal or terrorist activity.  The 
guidance describes the general characteristics of 
terrorist financing, provides case studies, and provides 
a list of the characteristics of financial transactions 
that have been linked to terrorist activity. The guidance 
is available at http://www1.oecd.org/fatf.   Also 
available on that Web site is the February 1, 2002 
"Report on Money Laundering Typologies for 2001-2002," a 
report on the methods and trends of money laundering and 
terrorist financing.

If you have any questions, please contact your supervisory 
office or the Compliance Division at (202) 874-4428.




__________________

David G. Hammaker
Deputy Comptroller for Compliance


Attachment
[ http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/advisory/2002-4.doc ]