1
See Eric Lichtblau and James Risen,“Bank Data Sifted in Secret by U.S. to Block Terror,” New
York Times A-1 (June 23, 2006); Barton Gellman, et al., “Bank Records Secretly Tapped,”
Washington Post, A-1 (June 23, 2006); Josh Meyer and Greg Miller, “U.S. Secretly Tracks
Global Bank Data,” Los Angeles Times, A-1 (June 23, 2006); and Glenn R. Simpson, “Treasury
Tracks Financial Data in Secret Program,” Wall Street Journal A-1 (June 23, 2006).
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RS22469
Updated July 7, 2006
Treasury’s Terrorist Finance Program’s
Access to Information Held by the Society for
Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication (SWIFT)
Jennifer K. Elsea and M. Maureen Murphy
Legislative Attorneys
American Law Division
Summary
Recent press reports have raised questions about the Department of the Treasury’s
Terrorist Finance Tracking Program’s access to information on international financial
transactions held by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
(SWIFT), a Brussels-based organization owned by banks in many countries, which
serves as a hub for international funds transfers. Its records contain names, addresses,
and account numbers of senders and receivers of international wire transfers between
banks and between securities firms, thus providing a useful source for federal officials
responsible for following money trails across international borders. On June 29, 2006,
the House of Representatives passed H.Res. 895 voicing support for the Treasury
program as fully compliant with all applicable laws; condemning the unauthorized
disclosure of classified information; and calling upon news media organizations not to
disclose classified intelligence programs. H.Res. 904 was introduced to discourage
government censorship of the press. This report addresses these issues and will be
updated as legislative events merit.
Background. News stories appearing in the New York Times, the Wall Street
Journal, and the Los Angeles Times
1
in June, 2006, described efforts by the Department
of the Treasury to trace international banking system transfers of funds to and from
terrorists by accessing information held by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication (SWIFT), a Brussels-based entity owned by financial organizations
world-wide that serves as a major hub for international communications among banks and
other financial institutions. It has at least one office in the United States.
