WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush issued a new Executive Order aimed at freezing the assets of a number of known terrorists. Financial institutions have been directed to block the assets of those on Treasury's `Specially Designated Nationals' (SDN) list compiled by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) and immediately contact OFAC. "I . find that because of the pervasiveness and expansiveness of the financial foundation of foreign terrorists, financial sanctions may be appropriate for those foreign persons that support or otherwise associate with these foreign terrorists. I also find that a need exists for further consultation and cooperation with, and sharing of information by, United States and foreign financial institutions as an additional tool to enable the United States to combat the financing of terrorism," the Executive Order read. "The Executive Order must be part of a broad and aggressive strategy to destroy the financial foundations of international terrorist networks," Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee John LaFalce (D-N.Y.) said in a statement "Another critical element in this effort is an effective international anti-money laundering strategy.In addition, the United States should pursue the imposition of appropriate bilateral and multilateral sanctions against any country that has, through neglect or design, permitted its financial systems to be used by bin Laden or other terrorist organizations." LaFalce also pointed out that Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) joined him in urging the president to call an emergency meeting of the G-7 nations and the international Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering to develop "a more vigorous international strategy" to root out the assets of terrorist groups and combat money laundering. Kerry and LaFalce introduced the International Counter-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (H.R. 1114/S. 398) in their respective Houses of Congress, which would give the Treasury Secretary authority to address specific money laundering problems, which cannot be done under current law. Last year, the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services passed this legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support. CUNA Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Regulatory Compliance Kathy Thompson advised credit unions specifically that they "should review the order signed by President Bush. As we've been advising credit unions since last week, they may provide the name and any other identifying information corresponding to those on the president's order to law enforcement, as allowed under the Right to Financial Privacy Act." Following the terrorist attacks, NCUA issued a news release alerting credit unions identifying a relationship, such as a share or share draft account, or a transaction, such as a wire transfer, with any of the named subjects should immediately contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also follow NCUA's suspicious activity reporting rules and regulations. The assets of those to be frozen according to the Executive Order include: Al Qaida/Islamic Army Abu Sayyaf Group Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Asbat al-Ansar Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) Islamic Army of Aden Usama bin Laden Muhammad Atif (aka, Subhi Abu Sitta, Abu Hafs Al Masri) Sayf al-Adl Shaykh Sai'id (aka, Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad) Abu Hafs the Mauritanian (aka, Mahfouz Ould al-Walid, Khalid Al-Shanqiti) Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi Abu Zubaydah (aka, Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, Tariq) Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi (aka, Abu Abdallah) Ayman al-Zawahiri Thirwat Salah Shihata Tariq Anwar al-Sayyid Ahmad (aka, Fathi, Amr al-Fatih) Muhammad Salah (aka, Nasr Fahmi Nasr Hasanayn) Makhtab Al-Khidamat/Al Kifah Wafa Humanitarian Organization Al Rashid Trust Mamoun Darkazanli Import-Export Company All of OFAC's informational material will be updated as soon as possible. Credit unions may call the OFAC hotline at (202) 622-2490 if they have any "hits" from the list, or questions. [email protected]