Reality Check: Bitcoin Plays A Bit Role In Terror Financing
Is bitcoin really the preferred currency of terrorists? You might think so from reading some of the mainstream media headlines. But a recent intergovernmental study on terrorist financing paints a very different picture. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based, intergovernmental body that develops policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of weapons of mass destruction, recently released a report called Emerging Terrorist Financing Risks. There is a small section in the report about virtual currency as a tool....
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Evidence suggests crypto’s role in terrorism remains relatively minor: “It has not yet become a primary means of terror financing.” We’re living today “amidst an explosion of risk related to fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, and data privacy,” said United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in February — and she specifically cited cryptocurrencies as a “tool to finance terrorism.”Yellen appeared to be flagging an important new turn in the war against terror, and it begged some questions: Is crypto in the hands of terrorists a real, present danger to governments and society?....
What seems more likely, however, is how organizations like IS get their funding through money laundering, a scheme that has been plaguing traditional finance for quite some time. The topic of the involvement of Bitcoin in terrorism funding has been kicked around a few times in the past, but it looks like there is no end in sight. Amit Kumar, a US-based terror expert, feels it is vital to disrupting terrorism financing, references to Bitcoin in this context as playing a role that further warrants investigation. It is not the first time someone mentions Bitcoin and terrorism funding in the....
Cash and hawala remain the “predominant methods of terror financing,” according to a UN official, however, "advanced" terror organizations are turning to cryptocurrencies. Terrorist groups who have been excluded from the “formal financial system” have turned to crypto to fund their heinous activities, according to Svetlana Martynova, the Countering Financing of Terrorism Coordinator at the United Nations (UN). The UN official made the comments during a speech at a “Special Meeting” run by the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in New Delhi and Mumbai on Oct. 28-29 — which was focused....
The new European Commission proposal to prevent money laundering and terror financing proposes additional regulations for Bitcoin companies. In the backdrop of recent terrorist attacks across the European Union and the Panama papers leak, the European Commission has put forth a proposal to amend the existing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. The proposal calls for the amendment of EU Directive 2015/849 and Directive 2009/101/EC, both related to prevention of money laundering or terrorist financing. The proposal includes a series of measures to prevent....
The terror financing ring reportedly bought cryptocurrency coupons in licensed tobacco shops across France. A large goup of accomplaces allegedly financing a jihadist network in Syria have been arrested after a sting operation by French police — despite choosing cryptocurrency coupons in an attempt to cover their tracks.In a statement, police said that "constant surveillance of these networks prompted terrorist organisations to seek more opacity by using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin," as reported on Sept. 30.Since 2019, the 29 accomplices have allegedly been supporting the operations....