Terror Funds

ED, ATS raid several locations in Thane over suspected terror links

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted joint raids on Thursday at Padgha in Thane district in connection with suspected terror funding, officials said. The raids were underway at Padgha in the Bhiwandi area since the early hours of Thursday, an official said. The action was based on some earlier operations conducted by the ATS at Borivali village in Padgha, he said. Residences of several suspects were being searched, and the ED was conducting enquiries about suspicious money transactions, the official said, adding that the ATS was assisting the federal agency sleuths. In June this year, the ATS, along with the Thane rural police, conducted a massive search at the residences of 22 persons, including Saquib Nachan, a former office-bearer of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and other suspected members and sympathisers of the banned outfit, at Borivali in Padgha. The ATS had seized 19 mobile phones and incriminating material and

Maharashtra ATS questions Thane teacher over 'terror' links of Pune techie

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has questioned a teacher in Thane in connection with the arrest of a Pune-based software engineer for his alleged links with Al Qaeda and other banned outfits, officials said on Wednesday. The teacher's house at Mumbra in Thane district was used for one of the meetings by the arrested engineer, Zubair Hangargekar, they said. The ATS nabbed Hangargekar (37) on October 27 for his alleged links with banned outfits, such as Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, and for his suspected involvement in radicalisation activities. During the investigation, the ATS had found a Pakistani contact number saved on his old phone. While probing further, the ATS learned that Hangargekar had visited Mumbra for one of his meetings. Accordingly, the ATS officials visited the teacher's house on Tuesday and enquired about Hangargekar and his meeting, an official said. The teacher is neither an accused nor a witness in the case, he said. The ATS tol

FATF urges increased due diligence for Myanmar amid high-risk status

FATF has recommended enhanced due diligence measures for risks arising from Myanmar, maintaining its status as a high-risk jurisdiction. The RBI has issued the advisory based on FATF's guidelines

E-comm, online payment platforms being abused for terror financing: FATF

Global terror financing watchdog FATF on Tuesday cited the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, and the 2022 Gorakhnath Temple incident to say that e-commerce platforms and online payment services are being misused for terror financing. In its 'Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks', the FATF also flagged 'state sponsorship of terrorism' and said a variety of publicly available sources of information and delegations' inputs to this report indicate that "certain terrorist organisations have been and continue to receive financial and other forms of support from several national governments". "Delegations reported on this trend by referring to the use of state sponsorship for TF (terror financing) either as fundraising technique or as part of the financial management strategy of the certain organisations engaging in terrorist acts. Several forms of support have been reported, including direct financial support, logistical and material support,

Eurasian Group identified over 600 terror financiers this year, says chief

The Eurasian Group (EAG) has identified more than 600 people linked to international networks involved in terror financing this year, its top official said here. Identifying ways of financing international terrorists and their financiers has emerged as the biggest challenge at present and this issue was discussed at length during the 41st plenary meeting of the EAG comprising nine countries, EAG chairman Yuri Chikhanchin said on Friday. He was addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the five-day meet that began on November 25. Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are the nine member countries of the EAG. "This is the biggest challenge that we are facing - identifying channels of financing, financiers and sustainment of international terrorists because we all are international these days," Chikhanchin said. "This year itself, over 600 people have been identified in our region via the analysis of financial ...

Delhi court to decide on Engineer Rashid's bail in terror funding on Nov 19

A Delhi court would likely pronounce on November 19 its order on a bail plea of Lok Sabha MP from J&K's Baramulla, Engineer Rashid, in an alleged case of terror funding. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh, who was scheduled to pass the order on Monday, adjourned the matter. The judge had on September 10 granted interim bail to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, to enable him to campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections while deferring the order on his regular bail plea. Rashid's interim bail was previously extended till October 28 on the ground of his father's poor health. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) hadn't opposed the plea after verifying the documents. Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror funding case. Elections to the 90-member J&K Assembly were held in three phases between September 18 and October 1. The results were declared on .

FATF praises India's PMLA, terror financing; asks to improve prosecution

Global anti-money laundering and terror financing body FATF on Thursday launched its much-awaited mutual evaluation report on India, saying the county's systems were "effective" but "major improvements" were required to strengthen prosecution in these cases. The 368-page report was released after the assessment was adopted by the Paris-headquartered body at its June plenary meeting. The last such review of India's combating of money laundering and terror financing regime was published in 2010. The report, which comes after an on-site visit of FATF experts to India last November, has placed the country in the "regular follow up" category, a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries. India will undergo its next evaluation in 2031. The report said India implemented such an anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terror (CFT) system that was effective in many respects. It, however, said "major improvements" were required to strengthen the prosecution in money

India, US to improve cooperation against money laundering, terror financing

The joint statement stated that the India-US AML/CFT Dialogue is an effective forum for both countries to share perspectives and best practises on how to strengthen the collective efforts

Court rejects Jamir's bail, says NSCN (IM) runs parallel govt in Nagaland

A Delhi court has dismissed the bail application of Alemla Jamir, a self-styled "cabinet minister" of the NSCN-IM, in a case of alleged terror funding, saying there was evidence that the insurgent group was running a parallel government in Nagaland. Special Judge Shailender Malik, who also dismissed the bail application of Jamir's co-accused, Masasasong Ao, noted that though there were talks of ceasefire between the NSCN (IM) and the central government, it was made clear in those agreements that only the army, paramilitary forces and local police would have the power of patrolling and the NSCN would not undertake any offensive operations such as ambush, raid, sniping and attack on any of the property of the state. "Coupled with the fact that arms were recovered at the instance of Jamir, there is also evidence showing running of parallel government which was never acknowledged under any peace accord," the judge said "All these clearly established that accusation against the accused .

New Delhi's counter-terrorism outreach

For a nation such as India, which is among the countries most affected by terrorism, this is a time to take the lead in continuing to keep the spotlight on the menace of terrorism

India may have secretariat for global 'No Money for Terror' initiative

India is likely to set up a secretariat to deal with anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism issues under the global 'No Money for Terror' initiative. The country indicated this at the third 'No Money for Terror' conference which concluded on Saturday, a senior government functionary said. The two-day conference here was attended by 450 delegates from over 75 nations and international organisations. "India is keen to establish a secretariat to deal with anti-money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) issues. Discussions are going on with international partners in this direction," the functionary said. New Delhi is also optimistic to institutionalise the 'No Money for Terror' conference by ensuring it as an annual event, the functionary said. The global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which participated in the conference, has also expressed willingness to work closely on AML and CFT

US blocks $63 million in funds of global terrorist groups in 2019: Report

The US blocked $63 million in funds of designated terrorist groups, including Pakistan-based outfits, in 2019 as part of its crackdown on foreign terrorist organisations

America's primary foreign goal is a terror-free world: Ravi Batra

America is, and must remain, a force for good, and our precious freedoms, which we all take for granted - the very nectar of American Exceptionalism born of our cherished separated powers regime

NIA should probe govt's involvement in terror funds: Farooq Abdullah

Seven people were arrested on Tue over allegations of providing funds to terror groups in Kashmir