Public designation of terrorist financiers and organizations is still part of the fight, but it is not the primary weapon.

The US declared him as a terrorist financier in 2004.

On March 3, the department said it took seriously a threat by a terrorist financier to attack Americans and others but knew of no specific threats.

Such overseas transactions were used by the Sept. 11 hijackers to wire more than $130,000, officials said, and are still believed to be vulnerable to terrorist financiers.

American officials say the intelligence gleaned from the transactions has been valuable in identifying possible terrorist financiers.

A central concern for the authorities is that terrorist financiers, too, may seek to exploit vulnerabilities in the insurance industry to launder money for their operations.

It also marked the first time that Rewards for Justice offered a reward for information leading to a terrorist financier.

But they say they are troubled by the connections between Saar and individuals and entities that the government has designated as terrorist financiers.

French and Swiss officials said they were acting against suspected terrorist financiers who operated in those countries.

Obama administration officials valued it because it allowed them to trace the transactions of suspected terrorist financiers while including "robust" privacy protections, according to the cables.