BENS brings together leaders from the financial community and the federal government to apply the latest techniques and technologies to U.S. efforts to track down and cut off suspicious financial activities that fund terrorism. BENS members have worked with numerous federal organizations, including the U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), to improve tracking methods and increase understanding of how cutting edge technology can be exploited by terrorists.
Significant BENS work on tackling terror financing includes:
- Improving the Suspicious Activity Report
- Advising USSOCOM and its government colleagues on emerging electronic threats in the financial sector that could be used to launder money or fund terrorist activities
- Participating in the Threat Finance Working Group at USSOCOM’s semi-annual Global Synchronization Conference to advise military and intelligence officials on current and potential threat-related aspects within the financial industry; members have attended the conference from 2007-2009
History
2001 — BENS members began working with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to streamline the Suspicious Activity Report filing process to allow for more efficient collection, analysis and dissemination of information that can be used to identify and prosecute terrorists and criminals.
2003 — BENS brought together over 75 business leaders to partner with federal officials in working sessions that lead to the publication BENS Recommendations for Improving the Suspicious Activity Report.
2007 — U.S.Special Operations Command sought the advice of BENS members on multiple aspects of terrorist finance tracking. Through a series of meetings and calls, members identified four emerging areas for terrorist and criminal money laundering: stored value or pre-paid cards, mobile banking, malware and botnets and virtual worlds.
2008 — BENS and USSOCOM sponsored a two-day Stored Value Cards Roundtable, convening nearly 70 business and government experts to discuss solutions to the distinct challenges that stored value cards may pose to the financial system. The information sharing session and subsequent working groups and conference calls were instrumental in creating a plan that helps troops identify and understand these cards when found on enemies on the battlefield.
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