funsec mailing list archives
[privacy] Patriot Act Also Reveals Domestic Financial Data
From: "Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 04:08:14 GMT
Via Newsweek. [snip] Over the last four years, U.S. law enforcement agencies have gained access to over 28,000 financial records inside the United States under a little known provision of the USA Patriot Act that parallels the secret international bank data program disclosed by news organizations last week, Treasury Department records show. The disclosure of the overseas programunder which Treasury Department officials have tapped into the records of a vast Belgian-based international financial database called Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications)has kicked up a storm of controversy. Some critics have decried the program as another example of the administration's invasion of privacy in the name of the war on terror. At the same time, President Bush today condemned as "disgraceful" the disclosure of the operation, which intended to help the government track overseas money movements of suspected terrorists. "For people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it, does great harm to the United States of America, Bush told reporters in Washington. But the international program is only one part of a much broader, if little publicized, Treasury Department effort to probe suspect financial recordsincluding thousands of bank accounts, wire transfers and other transactions involving individuals, companies and nonprofit organizations inside the United States. Under a section of the USA Patriot Act passed by Congress in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, Treasury officials were given new powers to direct U.S. banks and other financial institutions to search their records for accounts or transactions involving any individuals or groups who come under scrutiny during investigations of terrorism and money laundering cases. [snip] More here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13561813/site/newsweek/ - ferg -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/
_______________________________________________ privacy mailing list privacy () whitestar linuxbox org http://www.whitestar.linuxbox.org/mailman/listinfo/privacy
Current thread:
- [privacy] Patriot Act Also Reveals Domestic Financial Data Fergie (Jun 26)