Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - Countering the financing of terrorism

CTED participates in the Financial Action Task Force June 2024 plenary in Singapore

BMUSONI — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 20:05:00 +0000

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From 24 to 28 June 2024, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Working Groups and plenary meetings held in Singapore under the Presidency of T. Raja Kumar.

From 24 to 28 June 2024, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Working Groups and plenary meetings held in Singapore under the Presidency of T. Raja Kumar.

CTED took this opportunity to brief the FATF delegations on its current work on countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), cooperation with the FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs), and its analysis of various aspects of the multi-faceted threats and trends in relation to terrorism financing (TF), including the nexus between organized crime and terrorism; the destruction, looting of and trafficking in cultural heritage by terrorist groups, and the use of different types of virtual assets by terrorist groups and their supporters, including for their fundraising campaigns. CTED looks forward to continuing its work with the FATF under the incoming Mexican presidency, and to contributing to its thematic projects on CFT, including the comprehensive update on evolving TF trends and threats.

Among the key outcomes of the plenary, delegations agreed how countries will be assessed for their compliance with the recently revised FATF Standards on asset recovery and related international cooperation, which were adopted in October 2023. FATF also completed its review of the measures its members have in place to prevent gatekeepers (accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, and trust and company service providers) from being used to facilitate money-laundering (ML) and TF. FATF further agreed to publish the fifth annual update on progress by jurisdictions on implementing the FATF Standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VAs/VASPs). The plenary discussed the outcomes of its extensive public consultation on draft amendments to the Standards aimed to help to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive, while ensuring anti-money-laundering (AML)/CFT compliance, and ensure that the FATF Standards remain technology-neutral.

Delegates discussed and adopted the joint FAT/APG/EAG assessment of India and the joint FATF-MENAFATF assessment of Kuwait. The FATF removed two countries from its increased monitoring following successful on-site visits and updated its statements on high-risk and other monitored jurisdictions.

Members approved the Priorities of the FATF under the incoming Mexican Presidency. These include a focus on financial inclusion; ensuring a successful start to the new round of assessments; strengthening cohesion of the Global Network; supporting effective implementation of revised FATF Standards with a focus on asset recovery, beneficial ownership and virtual assets; and continued efforts to combat terrorist and proliferation financing.

CTED leads the delegation of New York-based United Nations entities to the FATF. Its regular participation in FATF meetings provides a vital channel for the exchange of information with respect both to the implementation progress of individual States and to global CFT-related trends, good practices, and challenges, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2462 (2019) and 2617 (2021). The importance of this ongoing cooperation was further reconfirmed during the visit of the FATF President to New York and his briefing to the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s members and observers (May 2024).

For more details on the outcomes of June 2024 plenary, please visit: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-june-2024.html.

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CTED participates in the Joint Experts Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the FATF/UNODC joint workshop on terrorist financing through hawala and similar services

AKHVEDELID — Thu, 04 May 2023 17:54:00 +0000

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CTED Senior Legal Officer, Svetlana Martynova, Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Coordinator, briefed the 2023 Joint Experts Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in New Delhi from 3-5 April 2023.

From 3-5 April 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the 2023 Joint Experts Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in New Delhi, at which over 140 operational experts discussed topics related to the three ongoing projects of the FATF’s Risk, Trends, and Methods Working Group (RTMG): Misuse of Citizenship- and Residency-by-Investment Schemes; Money-Laundering/Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) and Cyber-Enabled Fraud; and Crowdfunding for Terrorism Financing. In addition, the meeting included two broader sessions to explore challenges and possible responses to ML/TF threats. The first of these sessions helped to formulate concrete proposals on next steps for the RTMG project on improving the effectiveness of ML investigations, prosecutions and convictions. The second session, co-moderated by CTED, allowed participants to update their understanding of the TF landscape at the global and regional level and to explore possible responses.

CTED made two presentations, the first on addressing risks related to crowdfunding pursuant to resolution 2462 (2019) and the second on its recently published thematic assessments of gaps in the implementation of key countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) provisions of Security Council resolutions. CTED’s participation also allowed it to promote the relevant commitments of the Delhi Declaration on Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes and gather information on recent TF cases, in particular those involving virtual currency and other new payment technologies, and measures taken by States to detect and suppress TF. In addition, CTED also attended the joint workshop organized by FATF and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on terrorist financing through hawala and similar services. For more details, please visit: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Methodsandtrends/JEM-2023.html.

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CTED participates in meetings of the Financial Action Task Force

AKHVEDELID — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 18:51:00 +0000

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Delegates discuss key issues in the fight against terrorist financing at the Financial Action Task Force plenary in Paris in February 2023.

From 20-24 February 2023, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) took part in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Working Groups’ and plenary meetings held at FATF headquarters in Paris, contributing to the discussions on relevant FATF thematic projects, following country-specific processes and assessments, and gathering information on recent trends in terrorism financing and States’ responses. In addition, CTED took this opportunity to brief the FATF delegations on its work on the implementation of the Delhi Declaration on Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes and on its recently published thematic gaps assessment reports prepared in accordance with paragraph 35 of Security Council resolution 2462 (2019).

FATF members approved a report on disrupting the financial flows relating to ransomware, and were updated on other ongoing work, including a project on the misuse of citizenship and residency by investment schemes, as well as work to strengthen asset recovery and potential revisions of Recommendations 4 and 38 relating to confiscation and provisional measures and on mutual legal assistance: freezing and confiscation, respectively. The Plenary also agreed on publication of the report on money laundering and terrorist financing in the art and antiquities market. The Plenary also agreed to undertake new projects on money laundering and terrorist financing related to cyber-enabled fraud and on the use of crowdfunding for terrorist financing. The FATF discussed and adopted the mutual evaluation report of Indonesia, an observer to the FATF since June 2018, and Gulf Cooperation Council Member Qatar. For more details on the outcomes of February 2023 plenary, please visit: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-february-2023.html.

CTED leads the delegation of New York-based United Nations entities to FATF. Its regular participation in FATF meetings provides a vital channel for the exchange of information with respect both to the implementation progress of individual Member States and to global CFT-related trends, good practices, and challenges, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2462 (2019) and 2617 (2021).

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CTED's support to follow-up initiatives stemming from the GCTF Good Practices Memorandum on Safeguarding Civic Space in Counter-Terrorism Financing Measures

BMUSONI — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 22:05:00 +0000

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CTED participated in a workshop for the Middle East and North Africa region on safeguarding the non-profit sector from misuse for terrorism financing, organized by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law on 24 and 25 January in Valletta, Malta.

Following the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)’s support to the development of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) good practices memorandum on the implementation of countering financing of terrorism measures while safeguarding civic space, CTED participated in a workshop for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on safeguarding the non-profit sector from misuse for terrorism financing, organized by the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), on 24 and 25 January in Valletta, Malta.

Attended by approximately 30 participants (representing, inter alia, government and regulatory bodies, United Nations bodies, and civil society organizations), the workshop provided an opportunity for government officials to reflect and to formulate recommendations on effective risk assessment and risk-based supervision of non-profit organizations (NPOs) vulnerable to terrorism financing (TF).

In this regard, CTED recalled that the Security Council had consistently required Member States to ensure that their counter-terrorism measures (including on CFT) were implemented in compliance with their respective obligations under international law and explained the modalities of its dialogue with Member States in that regard. CTED also shared its current analysis on global trends, progress and remaining challenges, emphasizing those identified through its annual thematic summary assessment of gaps and areas requiring more action to implement CFT provisions for the purpose of designing targeted technical assistance and capacity-building efforts pursuant to operative paragraph 35 of resolution 2462 (2019).

Participants welcomed CTED’s intervention on its work to develop the guidance document “Ensuring compliance with human rights when countering the financing of terrorism” in the framework of the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact. CTED will continue to cooperate closely with IIJ in the context of counter-terrorism capacity building activities, including on CFT and human rights.

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Counter-Terrorism Committee adopts updated Global Surveys of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and other relevant resolutions and Security Council resolution 1624 (2005), respectively, by Member States

AKHVEDELID — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:06:00 +0000

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On 2 November 2021, the Counter-Terrorism Committee adopted the updated edition of its Global survey of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and other relevant resolutions by Member States, which is based on the assessment of States’ counter-terrorism efforts by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). Since 2005, CTED has visited 117 Member States and completed a total of 181 comprehensive, focused, regional and follow-up visits.

Regarded as the most comprehensive analytical documents on counter-terrorism in the UN system, the Committee’s Global implementation surveys (GIS) consider where progress has been made and where gaps remain and identify where the international community might most usefully focus its efforts. The surveys also contain global assessments of Member States’ efforts across all major thematic areas addressed by the relevant resolutions. They are updated every few years.

The nature of the global terrorist threat has continued to evolve since the publication of the previous edition of the survey, in 2016, compelling Member States to adapt their policies and approaches to address new challenges and existing gaps in their counter-terrorism measures. Those challenges include the evolution of the foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) threat; the rising threat of terrorism in conflict areas; the emergence of new terrorist methodologies; the growing threat of terrorist attacks on the basis of xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance, along with the growing emergence of some transnational linkages between such terrorist groups and, most recently, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 1373 GIS is a global analysis of the implementation of counter-terrorism measures by all Member States, examined on a regional basis using consistent criteria as an analytical tool. This edition introduces for the first time selected regional spotlights on issues in particular regions that deserve special attention based on a risk-based approach to analysis and the findings of CTED’s recent assessment visits. At the conclusion of each regional subsection, the survey provides a summary of some of the priority recommendations that the Committee has made to Member States since the previous survey to strengthen their implementation of resolution 1373 (2001). CTED hopes that these recommendations will also be useful for other international organizations and bilateral donors working in the field of counter-terrorism.

The Committee also adopted the updated edition of its Global survey of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1624 (2005) by Member States. The 1624 GIS was prepared by CTED pursuant to the request of the Security Council, contained in its resolution 2395 (2017), that CTED update the previous survey (S/2016/50), issued in January 2016. It contains a detailed regional overview of the steps taken by States to implement Security Council resolutions aimed at countering incitement to commit terrorist acts, violent extremism, and terrorist narratives, focusing primarily on the implementation of resolution 1624 (2005), which calls on all States to prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts. According to CTED’s analysis, as of 1 March 2021, 112 States had expressly criminalized incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts in their national legislation (compared with a figure of “at least 76 States”, as of 1 November 2015).

The survey notes that two other Security Council resolutions are directly relevant to the implementation of resolution 1624 (2005). Council resolution 2178 (2014), on the threat to international peace and security posed by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), contains a provision encouraging States to engage relevant local communities and non-governmental actors in developing strategies “to counter the violent extremist narrative that can incite terrorist acts”. It proposes that this can be achieved by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, including by “empowering youth, families, women, religious, cultural and education leaders, and all other concerned groups of civil society”. This approach has come to be known as countering violent extremism (CVE).

The survey also takes into account Security Council resolution 2354 (2017), on the threat to international peace and security posed by terrorist narratives spread by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh; Al-Qaida; and other terrorist groups. That resolution encourages States to develop programmes to counter terrorist narratives, stressing that States have the primary responsibility in countering terrorist acts and violent extremism conducive to terrorism and noting that counter-narrative efforts “can benefit through engagement with a wide range of actors, including youth, families, women, religious, cultural, and education leaders, and other concerned groups of civil society”.

An overview of the two surveys is available here.

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Interview with Mr. Santiago Otamendi, President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Secretary of Justice of Argentina (New York, 14 December 2017)

BMUSONI — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 17:03:00 +0000

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President Otamendi, thank you for agreeing to this interview. You have just briefed the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. Could you give us a short overview of FATF’s work?

FATF is an important institution internationally. We work to counter the financing of terrorism. This is done through peer review and mutual evaluation among all 203 jurisdictions that have committed to the 40 FATF recommendations.

It sounds like FATF, similar to the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, provides assessments of Member States, including recommendations, is that right?

Absolutely. We have our recommendations, countries have their internal laws, and for us it is important that countries do not only have the laws on paper, but also make sure that those laws are implemented in a proper and effective manner. And this is what we measure in our mutual evaluations.

Could you say something about the general landscape of how countries are doing in this sense; are they improving, or are things getting worse?

It is a mixed picture. Most of the countries are making efforts to adopt the necessary laws and implement them in a proper way. As we measure effectiveness, we note whether the judiciary not only works preventively, but also acts after a serious incident has happened. To achieve this, we need to have a comprehensive and constructive dialogue between regulators and the judiciary.

This is something we invest a lot of effort in. It is a great challenge to cover the world, but we have already started in our region South America – in Ecuador – and in the next three weeks we will be moving to China, and eventually we shall cover Europe as well. Our goal, our objective, is to establish guidance and try to improve the relationships between prosecutors and judges all around the world.

As I told the Committee only moments ago, terrorists do not respect borders, whereas the judiciary is not as flexible as we need to be. We now have a common view between all these institutions that will allow for an approach to further improve and counter the activities of terrorists that constitute a threat to our societies.

You are currently the FATF President (1 July 2017-30 June 2018); what could you tell us about your priorities?

As you know, FATF has 27 years of institutional experience, so I shall follow this institutional track, including in terms of information sharing, on combating money laundering and proliferation, as well as the financing of terrorism; these are our main objectives. Other than that, we always try to further study the latest trends and risks and see how we effectively can mitigate these.

In terms of some of these trends and risks, in your briefing to the Counter-Terrorism Committee you mentioned FinTech (financial technology) and RegTech (regulatory technology). What are some of the challenges that stem from these areas?

FinTech and RegTech are brand new industries that are growing quickly. Financial innovation can be very useful to society, but can also be exploited by terrorists. We have therefore started a constructive dialogue with representatives from the FinTech and RegTech sectors, in order to get a better understanding and see what recommendations we can provide so that they develop new technologies and products that are resilient to money laundering and terrorist financing. These sectors want to be a safe industry; through this dialogue, we can get a better picture of what new technologies are developing. At the same time, we can stress the importance for the industry to commit to our recommendations, and convey to regulators what they need to know.

Is it your view that the existing FATF recommendations are enough to cover all risks stemming from the FinTech and RegTech industry?

The FATF recommendations evolve continuously to address new threats to the financial system. To support the recommendations and interpretive notes, and to clarify their implementation, FATF issues guidance and best practices, for example on the risk-based approach to virtual currencies. If necessary, FATF could develop additional guidance, or issue new interpretations or recommendations.

Finally, with ISIL (Da’esh) losing territory in Iraq and Syria, does this affect terrorism financing in any way?

Due to loss of territory, ISIL has seen a significant shift in its funding sources, as well as the mechanisms used to retain or move its funds. FATF continues to monitor developments in the region, and specifically ISIL’s financing and expenditure, and how current developments are affecting the tools used to finance terrorism. FATF is also closely monitoring the financing strategies of other terrorist organisations, including Boko Haram in West Africa and Al-Shabaab in East Africa.

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