"Cash, hawala predominant methods of terror financing": UN counter-terrorism legal officer

New Delhi [India], October 29 : United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED) senior legal officer, Svetlana Martynova on Saturday highlighted the issue of cash and hawala transactions which is still the predominant methods of terror financing.
Speaking about emerging technologies at the United Nations Security Council special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, she said, "In terms of global trends, cash and hawala are predominant methods of terror financing. We know terrorists adapt to the evolution of conditions around them and as technologies evolve they adapt as well."
Martynova, UN CTED on cryptocurrency further emphasized on the use for terror financing and said that terrorists will use loopholes to achieve their targets.
"They will abuse whatever they can, whatever has loopholes, be it very basic or very advanced methods. It'll depend on: their goals, and their target audience. The main challenge is regulation. We have very clear global standards from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the resolutions of UNSC," said Svetlana Martynova.
She said all countries are continuously monitored by UN bodies to ensure their compliance with the security council resolution, including on counter-terrorism.
Answering a question on how the UN ensures compliance on countering terrorism in countries like Pakistan, she said, "Each country is monitored by us for its compliance with UNSC resolutions on all topics, including countering the financing of terrorism, assessment and its compliance on our side continue."
"It takes the form of country visits, desk reviews, etc. We have dedicated desk officers that cover each country of the world. The monitoring and analysis is continuous," she added.
Martynova said CTED works closely with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and added that even when the country is delisted, "they are still being monitored through regional FATF-style body."
This decision comes on the heels of Pakistan's exit from the FATF's 'grey list'. Though Islamabad managed to exit the list, the global watchdog stated that Pakistan would continue to work with the Asia/Pacific Group on money laundering to improve its counter-terrorist financing system.
India is hosting the two-day anti-terrorism meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The ongoing meeting in Delhi is being held under India's chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).
The discussion focussed on three areas: the internet and social media; financing for global terror networks; and the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems, such as drones.