Detecting and Deterring Cash Couriers and Bulk Cash Smugglers

Singapore, 12 June 2009 - As part of their ongoing fight against terrorism, APEC economies came together in Sydney this week to identify further measures to prevent the illicit movement of cash across borders to fund terrorist activities.

The four-day workshop, co-hosted by Australia and the United States, was designed to assist Asia-Pacific financial intelligence units, border control agencies and law enforcement agencies to detect and prevent the smuggling of cash between APEC economies.

"Illicit cash smuggling is a major method for terrorists, as well as drug traffickers and other criminal elements to move currency across borders. Cash couriers have played a role in several key terrorist attacks, including the 2002 bombings in Bali and the 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta", explained Edgard Kagan, Economic Counsellor at the US Embassy in Canberra.

The smugglers hide cash on or in their bodies and in vehicles, commercial shipments, express packages, luggage, private aircraft and boats. They are also developing new tactics such as Stored Value and Pre-Paid cards which are compact, easily transportable and potentially anonymous ways to store and access cash.

The importance to the region of stamping out these activities was highlighted by Quinton Devlin, Australia's representative to the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force, "APEC's gains in terms of freer trade, regional economic integration and structural reform, which have led to economic growth and prosperity, can be lost or severely undermined by natural, accidental or deliberate disruptions to trade and investment."

Over 80 participants from 19 APEC economies and Cambodia participated in a series of practical exercises and case studies, including a visit to Sydney International Airport to see efforts to detect cash couriering and bulk cash smuggling at the border first-hand.

Participants also reviewed progress made since the first APEC workshop on the topic, held in Manila in December 2008. Based on the lessons learned in that workshop a number of economies have since established inter-agency information sharing agreements and illicit cash smuggling task forces.