PALESTINIAN PEPs WITH DEEP POCKETS AND SERBIAN PASSPORTS POSE A NEW COMPLIANCE THREAT

Mohammed Dahlen, the exiled former security chief at the Palestinian Authority, his family, and several other Palestinian officials loyal to him, have all received passports from the Republic of Serbia. Apparently, Dahlen, who has been lining in the Gulf, was able to induce Abu Dhabi to agree to invest billions of Euros in Serbia, and fast-track Serbian citizenship for his family and supporters was his reward.

Dahlan, who was the probable heir to Palestinian leadership after Yasir Arafit, but who was outmaneuvered by Mahmoud Abbas, is seeking to unseat Abbas, whose government, tried, convicted & sentenced Dahlen in Absentia, and reportedly has a large ($22m) civil suit pending against him.There have been no elections in the Territories for several years, and Abbas' position as president has no legal basis.

Here's the compliance problem; Dahlen has a large following in Gaza, as evidenced by a recent demonstration, in his favor, and such a public outpouring of support could not have occurred without the blessing of the Hamas regime, which rules Gaza with an iron hand. One must assume that Hamas is aligned with Dahlen, to some extent, for its own political ends. Remember, Dahlen was, at one time, the PA security head in Gaza; he got plenty of supporters there still. Look at the 2005 photo, above.

Therefore, from a terrorist financing standpoint, any one (or more of these) of these scenarios may already be in operation:

(1) Dahlen funnels money, received from his Middle East supporters, to Hamas.
(2) Hamas financiers (e.g. Turkey or Gulf supporters) deliver money to Hamas, who then send it to Dahlen.
(3)  Dahlen and Hamas jointly coordinate terrorist attacks against European, Israeli, American, or Middle Eastern targets (e.g. Egypt).
(4) Dahlen provides logistical assistance to Hamas agents, in his new home base in Serbia. He has taken possession of a high-security residence formerly used by a President of Serbia.

If any of these possible operations occur, then any Western bank that deals with the Dahlen group risks terrorist financing charges, irrespective of Dahlen's own status. Additionally, considering that the other Arabs holding Serbian passports (we do not know that all of the passport recipients were Palestinians) might be involved in terrorist acts, or be affiliated with designated terrorist groups, it is prudent to now check ALL new clients who hold Serbian passports, and who do not speak fluent Serbian. Perhaps a multi-lingual staff member at your bank should be designated to conduct the initial CIP interview with the client, to ascertain whether your new client is not truly as Serbian national.