It’s important for all board of directors of any Global company to understand and handle the risk of financial fraud, money laundering, fraud, and market abuse due to the terrorists attacks on the US on 9/11. Terrorists groups and their operations receive funds through a variety of fronts, for example: by using economic or financial and commercial system as an agent to disguise the funding origins and purpose.
The 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism is the primary mechanism for combating terrorist financing. The UN requires signatory member states to pass laws that allow the confiscation and seizure of any terrorist assets and laws that will criminalize any act that provides and collects funds with the intentions of being used to implement and carry out a terrorist attack.
After the 9/11 attacks, sanctions were expanded on the UNSCR 1373 to include individuals, organizations and the countries they reside. Institutions in the regulated financial sector are now required to screen all their clients and customers against UN blacklists of said individuals and organizations suspected with connections to terrorists. Imprisonment of officers and directors are the penalties if these individuals and organizations commit a criminal offense by providing any kind of financial assistance to the blacklisted parties.
In 2000, the UK implemented their own Terrorism Act and in 2006 announced a wider comprehensive counter-terrorism strategies: By engaging in the battle ideas of tackling disadvantage,deterring promoters of terrorism, by better intelligence to disrupt their activities, which includes the countering of terrorist finance, strengthen the security of the borders and defend key utilities, and continually test their countries preparedness by building up incident response capabilities. The challenge to combat terrorist financing is multi-faceted, requiring an array of responses across personal life and business responsibility.
Related posts: