Reminder
Earlier this year, at its 8469th meeting, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2462.
Resolution 2462 (2019) calls upon UN Member States to combat and criminalize the financing of terrorists and their activities, reaffirms principles contained in UNSCR 1373 (2001) and urges all Member States to implement FATF Standards.
The Resolution not only recognises the role FIUs play in the global effort to deny terrorists the space to exploit, raise and move funds; it also echoes the work and principles of the Egmont Group (EG) regarding international cooperation, effective partnership and collaboration between competent authorities.
Resolution 2462 (2019) emphasizes the FIU’s work and promotes greater access to information, both through effective partnerships with the private sector and inter-agency coordination to intensify and accelerate the timely exchange of relevant operational information and financial intelligence on domestic and international scales.
Resolution 2462 (2019):
15. Urges Member States which have not yet done so to establish operationally independent and autonomous financial intelligence units with a view to strengthening their framework to prevent and counter the financing of terrorism, in line with FATF standards;
16. Calls upon Member States to reinforce the access to information and terrorist financing analytical capacity of their financial intelligence units, including by developing together with competent authorities dedicated risk indicators, and by cooperating with the private sector concerning the evolution of the trends, source and methods of terrorist financing;
19. Calls upon Member States to intensify and accelerate the timely exchange of relevant operational information and financial intelligence regarding actions or movements, and patterns of movements, of terrorists or terrorist networks, including Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) and FTF returnees and relocators, in compliance with international law, including international human rights law, and domestic law, including by:
(a) Ensuring that competent authorities can use financial intelligence shared by financial intelligence units, and relevant financial information obtained from the private sector, in compliance with international law, including international human rights law;
(b) Enhancing the integration and use of financial intelligence in terrorism related cases, including through enhanced inter-agency coordination;
(c) Using financial intelligence and financial footprints as a tool to detect networks of terrorists and their financiers;
(d) Considering the establishment of a mechanism by which competent authorities can obtain relevant information, including but not limited to bank accounts, to facilitate the detection of terrorist assets, in compliance with international law, including international human rights law;
22. Encourages competent national authorities, in particular financial intelligence units and intelligence services, to continue to establish effective partnerships with the private sector, including financial institutions, the Financial technology industry and internet and social media companies, in particular with regards to the evolution of trends, sources and methods of the financing of terrorism;
28. Calls upon Member States to strengthen international cooperation to prevent and counter the financing of terrorism, including by:
(a) ensuring the effective exchange of relevant financial intelligence through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and ensuring that competent authorities are able to exercise their powers to respond to international cooperation requests effectively;
(b) ensuring that their FIUs serve as the central agency for the receipt of suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering, predicate offences and terrorist financing filed by reporting entities and that they actively use dedicated, secure and protected channels to disseminate, spontaneously or upon request, information and the results of its analysis to relevant competent authorities;
(c) enhancing cross-border cooperation among and between customs and tax authorities, as well as improving the coordination of international police and customs operations;
(d) improving the quality of the information shared internationally between financial intelligence units on the financing of FTFs, including FTF returnees and relocators, small cells, and individual terrorists on the activities of terrorist fundraisers, collectors and facilitators by fully implementing FATF standards in that regard;
Full text available here: http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/doc/2462
The Egmont Group underlines that Resolution 2462 (2019) encapsulates many of the perspectives the Group has been fostering since its beginning. Resolution 2462 stands to reinforce the commitment and continued efforts of FIUs in their fight against terrorism financing.
