Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Encyclopedia
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists, fight financial crime, enforce economic sanctions against rogue nations, and combat the financial support of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. The Under Secretary is appointed by the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and confirmed by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
The current Under Secretary is Stuart A. Levey
Stuart A. Levey
Stuart A. Levey was the first Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence within the United States Department of the Treasury. He was sworn in on July 21, 2004 and served until March 2011. According to the Bush administration, Levey has played a central role in their efforts to combat...
, who has served since July 21, 2004, when he was appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, confirmed on July 21, 2004. In 2009, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
announced that Levey would continue to serve in that position.
The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is one of sixteen agencies in the United States Intelligence Community
United States Intelligence Community
The United States Intelligence Community is a cooperative federation of 16 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and the protection of the national security of the...
.
Overview
The Under Secretary heads the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). Both were created when the administration of President BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
announced on May 8, 2004, that the Executive Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat money laundering, terrorist financiers, and other financial crimes.As reflected in its name, the Financial...
(FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
(OFAC), and allocated resources from the Treasury Department would be brought under the new office's control. The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence also possesses oversight of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (Treasury Department).
The Federal Reserve remains outside the jurisdiction of this office, and cannot be investigated by it.
History
The position's predecessor, the Under Secretary for Enforcement, managed law enforcement aspects of the Department prior to the reorganization. The Under Secretary for Enforcement provided oversight and policy guidance for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Customs Service, the Federal Law Enforcement Training CenterFederal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
; the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the U.S. Secret Service, the Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Under Secretary also provided policy guidance over the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
's Crime Investigation.
Several of these agencies are now non-existent or have been moved into other federal departments. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was split into two separate bureaus, with one handling certain law enforcement aspects and the other handling tax collection aspects. The former was moved into the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, while the latter was kept within the Department of the Treasury. The U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center are now within the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Customs Service was moved into the Department of Homeland Security when it became part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
.
Former Under Secretaries
Former Under Secretaries of Enforcement include Jimmy Gurule, James E. Johnson, and Ronald NobleRonald Noble
Ronald Kenneth Noble is an American law enforcement officer, and the current Secretary General of INTERPOL.-Biography:...
.