Correspondence: Nicholas Ryder, Commercial Law Research Unit, Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, Bristol, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK. E-mail: Nicholas.Ryder@uwe.ac

¹is Reader in Financial Services Law at Bristol law School, University of the West of England, Bristol. His research interests concentrate on financial crime and financial services regulation. He is Head of the Commercial Law Research Unit, and currently teaches Commercial Law and International Financial Crime.

²is Senior Lecturer at Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, Bristol. He has extensive experience of research, consultancy and evaluation in the fields of legal procedure and international trade law. He teaches Public International Law, European Union Law and World Trade Organisation Law.

Abstract

This article considers the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) on the legislative and policy response by the United States towards terrorist financing. This article is divided into three parts. Part 1 considers the alleged association between Islamic banking systems and terrorist finance. The second part of the article critically considers the ability of the US authorities to freeze the assets of organisations who are suspected of financing terrorism by virtue of Presidential Executive Order 13 224. The final part of the article considers the reporting requirements imposed by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act 2001). The third part also highlights some provisions and practices that raise the spectre of racial profiling in the United States, and critiques the fairness and success of such measures imposed on particular group of persons. The objective is not to provide a comprehensive analysis of the laws and policies, but to emphasise areas that have not yet been subject to sufficient scrutiny from the perspective of success and equality of the application of the law.