National Bank Of Greece
Greece (02/05)
The United States and Greece have longstanding historical, political, and cultural ties based on a common heritage, shared democratic values, and participation as Allies during World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Cold War. The Greek government responded to the September 11, 2001 attacks with strong political support for the United States, use of Greek airspace, and the offer of Greek military assets in support of the counterterrorism campaign. Its participation in Operation Enduring Freedom included the stationing of a Greek Navy frigate in the Arabian Sea for almost 2 years--the most distant deployment ever for the Greek Navy. In the summer of 2002, Greek authorities captured numerous suspected members of the terrorist group "17 November." It was a major break in the investigation of the group, which had killed five U.S. mission employees since 1975. The trial of the November 17 suspects successfully concluded in the fall of 2003. ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]
US State Department Road Safety Overseas
U.S. Department of State [Read More]
Persons
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Country Reports: G-M
Gabon Gabon is not a regional financial center. The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) supervises Gabon’s banking system. BEAC is a regional Central Bank that serves six countries of Central Africa. According to a 2003 letter from the Government of Gabon (GOG) to the UN Counter Terrorism Committee, in matters concerning suspicious financial transactions, banks are bound by the instructions of the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs. The actual monitoring of financial transactions is conducted by the Economic Intervention Service that harmonizes the regulation of currency exchanges in the member States of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). On November 20, 2002, the BEAC Board of Directors approved draft anti-money laundering a ... [Read More]
M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
The following are summaries of the most significant priority issues:Refocus Efforts of High Intensity Financial Crime Areas (HIFCAs). HIFCAs are special, high-risk areas or sectors where law enforcement will concentrate its resources and energy to combat money laundering. The 2001 Strategy mandated that the HIFCA task forces become operational and conduct investigations designed to result in indictments, convictions, and seizures, rather than focus primarily on intelligence gathering. Each of the six HIFCA Task Forces is now actively working cases. HIFCA Task Forces are composed of, and draw upon, all relevant federal, state, and local agencies. The Departments of Treasury and Justice jointly supervise the HIFCA Task Forces, and the 2001 Strategy primarily tasks the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section to develop an advanced money laundering training program to enhance the HIFCA Task Forces’ abili ... [Read More]
(K) Appendix B: Background Information on Terrorist Groups
The following descriptive list of terrorist groups is presented in two sections. The first section lists the 29 groups that currently are designated by the Secretary of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The designations carry legal consequences: It is unlawful to provide funds or other material support to a designated FTO. Representatives and certain members of a designated FTO can be denied visas or excluded from the United States. US financial institutions must block funds of designated FTOs and their agents and must report the blockage to the US Department of the Treasury. ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Greece
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Security forces sometimes abused persons, particularly illegal immigrants and Roma. There were reports of police torture of illegal immigrants. Overcrowding and harsh conditions continued in some prisons. Police sweeps resulted in the detention of undocumented immigrants, frequently under squalid conditions. There were legal limits on the freedom of association of ethnic minorities. Some leaders of minority religions reported difficulty with the authorities, but others noted a general improvement in government tolerance. Despite Vouli approval, construction of a new Islamic cultural center and mosque in Athens had not started by year's end, and Muslims in Athens continued praying in unofficial mosques. Laws that restricted freedom of speech remained in force, and some legal restrictions and administrative obstacles on freedom of religion persisted. Violence and discriminatio ... [Read More]
Burns, R. Nicholas
Mr. Burns was born on January 28, 1956. Raised in Massachusetts, he earned the Certificat Pratique de Langue Francaise from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) in 1977. He subsequently earned a B.A. in European History from Boston College in 1978, graduated Summa Cum Laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He then received an Masters degree with distinction from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980 in International Economics and American Foreign Policy. He has received honorary doctorates from eight American universities. In 2001, he was given the Public Service Award by the Boston College Alumni Association. In 2002, he was presented the Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service by the Johns Hopkins University. He was named Communicator of the Year by the National Association of Government Communicators in 1997. ... [Read More]
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