G7 To Help Follow The Money
Finance ministers from the world's major industrialized countries agreed Tuesday to cooperate on stemming the flow of money to suspected international terrorists following the recent attacks in the United States, a Japanese official said.
The agreement came a day after President Bush ordered a freeze on the assets of 27 people and organizations with suspected links to terrorism. Mr. Bush urged other nations to do likewise, warning that foreign banks that don't cooperate could have their own transactions blocked in the United States.
By cutting off funds to terrorists, Mr. Bush hopes to choke off financial support for Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The Group of Seven finance ministers reached the agreement in a teleconference that wrapped up Tuesday, the Finance Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
In the call, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa briefed his counterparts on Japan's decision Saturday to freeze financial assets of organizations with suspected terrorist links, the official said.
Further details from the teleconference were not available.
Also Tuesday, Shiokawa told reporters said the G-7 will meet in Washington on Oct. 6, said Shinya Umehara, another ministry official.
The G-7 had postponed plans to meet in Washington on Sept. 28 following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The G-7 countries are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
©MMI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed