- Money laundering and terrorism triggered by the new financial technologies.
- Anonymity conferred by digital asset space eases terrorism funding.
Ever-increasing innovations in the virtual space, especially in the digital finance arena, has raised the concerns of global policy makers. At the UN Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Monday, T.S. Tirumurti, Indian Ambassador & Representative, announced the proposal for hosting the council’s counter-terrorism meeting in India. He emphasized the urge to address the ‘dire threats’ associated with the malicious terrorist exploitation of digital technologies.
He highlighted:
“The ease of access, anonymity, and intractability offered by them have enabled terrorist entities to collect and transfer funds evading the monetary and enforcement structures.”
Innovative Fintechs in Terrorist Fundraising
Tirumurti also highlighted the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, and NFTs by terrorists. The groups use these innovative techs to ease their global recruitment and execution of many anti-social plans.
Terrorists continue to exploit new payment methods (NPMs) such as prepaid phone cards, mobile payments, and other online payment systems. Especially, they use prepaid phone cards as illicit alternatives for cash.
At the UNSC briefing, the representative highlighted the crucial involvement of online funding methods such as direct donations, crowdfunding platforms, and NFTs in terrorist fundraising,
When Terrorist financiers adopted cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies for fundraising, a few governments stepped up to opt for blockchain analysis to eliminate the illicit process. In late June 2022, the Israeli Government became the first to seize a crypto-related financing operation of Hamas, the terrorism wing of the al-Qassam brigade. A recent report from Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis software, revealed this seizure of cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, XRP, and a few more.
