Cash Flowing

Following 9/11, the U.S. wasted little time identifying and pursuing entities thought to be funding al-Qaeda. But half a year after the bombings in Bali alerted the world to a lethal terror threat in Southeast Asia, intelligence officials and regional diplomats say that a complex web of charities, front companies, Islamic organizations, and individuals suspected of financing Jemaah Islamiah (JI)—the al-Qaeda-linked network blamed for the Bali attack and numerous others—remains largely untouched. For months, say U.S. officials, Washington has wanted to issue a list naming terror backers in Southeast Asia, thus freezing their assets in America and pressuring other countries to follow suit. But while arrests stemming from the Bali investigation dented JI's operational capacities, bureaucratic wrangling continues to hamper efforts to disrupt its financial support.

The list, prepared by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, originally named 300 individuals and organizations. However, negotiations between U.S. government agencies whittled it down to only 18 individuals and 10 companies. "Most of the really sensitive names have been dropped, so it won't have the kind of impact that the full 300 would have, though there'll still be a few surprises," commented a Washington source familiar with the process. Opposition to publishing the names came primarily from the State Department and the CIA, says a State Department official. The diplomats worried that they didn't have enough evidence, particularly when it came to influential businessmen and religious figures whose inclusion could sour relations with some Southeast Asian governments. The CIA contends that going public will push JI's funders underground. Better, they argue, to keep them where their dealings and associates can be monitored.

It's possible, U.S. officials say, that they'll air the list within weeks. But there's no certainty, and Washington has a record of plodding along the region's money trail: two JI leaders, including Riduan Isamuddin, a.k.a. Hambali, had their assets frozen in January—16 months after the Treasury Department sought to have them designated as terrorists. Many intelligence analysts say such moves would be symbolic but important steps toward cutting off JI's financial lifeblood. The repeated delays suggest that JI will have money to burn for some time yet.