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| Britain | |
| Scottish banks at risk from al-Qaeda fraud | |
| 2004-01-19 | |
AL-QAEDA is targeting blue-chip companies in Scotland as part of an audacious attempt to defraud the financial sector of millions of pounds, police officers have warned. Sources suggest that every single bank has an account that is linked in some way to a terrorist group, while experts have said Scotland is particularly vulnerable because security is not as rigorous as in London and New York.
While London and New York are the obvious choices for money laundering, it is feared that terrorist groups may see Scotland as an easy target. As a result, multi-nationals are now training staff to concentrate on counter-terrorism. Inspector Connel said: "London is a better physical target, but we have a massive financial sector in Edinburgh. For every major attack, there have been hundreds of others that go unnoticed because they are financial infiltrations. Fraud is one of the methods used by terrorist groups to raise funds." Increasingly, consumers are the victims of bogus e-mails, telephone and credit card fraud, and many have alerted their banks to the fact that their account has been wiped out. A fraud manager with a leading insurance company said many of the banks found it difficult to refuse big accounts, and they had unwittingly opened the door to terrorists. He said: "Terrorists have used insurance companies, but the banks are at a higher risk." David Capitanchik, a terrorism expert at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said Scotland was a likely target given the high calibre of financial companies. "Scotland’s financial institutions have quite a reputation. Terrorists may think it is less likely to come under scrutiny. They presume there will be more scrutiny in London and New York. It would make sense to look for a place which wouldn’t have the same focus as London." Tom Wood, the deputy chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police, said he was not surprised that terrorist groups were focusing on Scotland’s capital. "Edinburgh is the headquarters of several international empires," he said. "It is now a global marketplace and terrorism is a global business. Financial irregularities have been the underpinning foundation of terrorist activities. What they all need is to raise funds to sponsor their terrorist acts." Concerns about the financial sector come just days after the Bank of Scotland was fined a record £1.25 million for breaching anti-money laundering rules on the identification of customers. The Financial Services Authority said in half of test cases Bank of Scotland had failed to retain a copy of customer ID or a record of where it was kept. The fine is the largest ever imposed for inadequate record-keeping following the introduction of money laundering rules by the City watchdog in 2001. The bank said the problems were first detected in December 2002 and that remedies were quickly put in place to deal with the failings. A spokesman for the CBI Scotland said companies must remain vigilant and ensure that they are not aiding terrorists. He said: "We are aware of the dangers posed. It is not just the City of London that is affected; it is a global challenge." | |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 --What happened to the Scots' reputation for watching every dollar?-- Start reading freedomandwhisky.blogspot.com. It's not good. |
| Posted by: Anonymous2U 2004-1-19 1:56:04 AM |
| #1 Shame... But hey a new Jag! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-1-19 12:53:27 AM |