The anti terrorism laws that were enacted proceeding 9/11 have been successful in interrupting the criminal activities of terrorists in the financial districts. The act of money laundering has been affected by companies practicing due diligence in regards to all new and existing clients. The creation of the Suspicious Activity Report has also been a key element in providing the means for individual companies to assist and to cooperate with the government agencies in tracking down the criminals. Both of these together have been so effective, that currently terrorist cells are being forced to rely on donations from private individuals, on further criminal endeavours and on transfers of cash that are informal and kept off the books, such as those of the hawala organizations.
One of the problems is however, that the further the world gets from that day, the further the threat may seem, and companies may be becoming too lax in their enforcements of the policies and the regulations. Just following the attacks, countries surrounding the world worked diligently and tirelessly against the opportunities being taking by the terrorists of the international banking and financial systems. This is the irony that has advisors nervous, the fact that because the international government crack-downs were so successful, it may seem as though the threat no longer exists. The effort seems to be slipping.
One of the countries that is viewed as a passive supporter of the large terrorist cell of Al Qaeda is Iran. Although the country is not tolerant of the actions of the terrorists, they do still support the Hamas and the Hezbollah. Due to the tenuous relationship between the United States and Iran, some of the restrictions on the members of Al Qaeda may not be strictly enforced such as allowing them to cross the borders to Pakistan and Afghanistan without having their passports stamped. That fact is that the institutions of the world, and the governments of the different countries must become more diligent and determined, as the operations and the funding for such opperations are going even further under ground and out of the range of those conducting the investigations.
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