‘Rise of crypto use for terror finance a big concern’

 

‘Rise of crypto use for terror finance a big concern’

NEW DELHI: At the ‘No Money For Terror’ ministerial conference on counter-terror financing, which concluded here on Saturday, Canada highlighted the mammoth increase – to the extent of nearly 2000% over the last few years -- in the use of virtual assets for terror. The growing use of virtual assets or crypto-currency, sources pointed out, has been the most prominent change in the pattern of terror financing, amid continued use of methods like illegal trade, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, drugs, counterfeit currency, artefacts and cultural property, illicit trade in natural resources and wildlife, state-sponsored financing, profits from businesses and through charitable Organisations.

“Use of virtual assets remains a significant new mode of storing and transferring funds for terror, with highly speculative pricing in the pandemic period having vastly raised valuations of stored terror funds. However, like most booms and busts in financial markets, the past year has seen a significant erosion of value of virtual assets,” an IPS officer told TOI. Still, terrorist networks continue to remain interested in the use of virtual assets for their Tradeability, invisibility and unregulated eco-system and they forage for more in darker corners of the internet.

Among the leading global terrorist outfits using virtual assets are Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

At the NMFT conference, a large number of delegates from across the globe called for quick implementation of recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to break virtual assets of terrorist Organisations. Sharing details of views expressed by individual representatives at the NMFT conference, National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Dinkar Gupta on Saturday said Australia had voiced the concern that the emerging technologies and biological/chemical weapons could be the new weapons for terrorists. France called for investment in tech innovations. UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) flagged the nexus between terrorists and transnational Organised crime. Ghana warned of misuse of natural resources by terror outfits. Interpol highlighted the challenge of global capacity building in the required technical skills to counter new-age terror financing methods. The representative from Singapore spoke about how they have leveraged private-public partnership in countering terror financing while Nigeria referred to the strides taken by financial intelligence units in the fight against terror financing.

The Chair of the third NMFT conference reaffirmed that the actions to counter terrorism and its financing should be collective and unified, without exceptions on any ground and recommitted to a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. The Chair underlined that States should Endeavour to bring to justice, in accordance with domestic and international law, any person who supports, facilitates, provides safe haven, participates or attempts to participate in the financing, planning, preparation or commission of terrorist acts.

Underscoring the importance of a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, the Chair called for cooperation in countering terrorism and its financing between all relevant stakeholders, including the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, civil society and private sector.