Terror Financing

The FATF Mutual Evaluation Report on India highlights substantial improvements in plugging vulnerabilities associated with tackling money laundering and countering terrorist finance.

International cooperation is the key to curbing the menace of terrorism finance more effectively.

Pakistan’s desperation to keep itself off the list of defaulting countries maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) underlines the increasing effectiveness of the organisation, which has become the spearhead against global efforts combating the financing of terrorism (CFT).

It is difficult, if not impossible, to completely clamp down on Maoist finances. However, it is possible to restrict the flow of money into their coffers.

Citing IDSA Report, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, RSN Singh said in the Rajya Sabha recently that “…the CPI(Maoist) party has been collecting not less than Rs 140 crores annually from a variety of sources. Further, the possibility of certain front organizations of the CPI (Maoist) … clandestinely getting foreign funds cannot be ruled out.”

In a document entitled ‘Our Financial Policy’, the Maoists mention that they have three types of economic needs, viz. the needs of war, political propaganda and the people. To cater to these needs there are three broad categories of resources, viz. (a) membership fee, levy and contributions from the people; (b) confiscation of the wealth and income of the enemy; and (c) ‘revolutionary taxes’ collected in guerrilla zones and base areas.

This article deals with financing of Islamist terror in Bangladesh, which on occasions becomes jihadi in nature, especially when it is directed towards India. The exercise undertaken studies developments in the area of terrorist finance in Bangladesh post-9/11, but does not claim to fully estimate the volume of terror financing in that country. The attempt has been made to throw some light on an area where little research has been done. The article argues that the Government of Bangladesh has shown a half-hearted approach towards checking the finance of terrorism.