In May 2003, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Attorney General John Ashcroft declaring that the FBI would “lead terrorist financing investigations and operations.”
Previously, terror funding had been an area of expertise at the U.S. Customs Service, which was folded into the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Homeland Security. In the aftermath of 9/11, ICE led Operation Green Quest, a multi-agency task force that netted 93 arrests and the seizure of $35 million over 17 months.
The 2003 MOA dismantled Green Quest, and laid out procedures to maximize the sharing of information between agencies. The objective: “a seamless, coordinated campaign against terrorist sources of financing.”