PM Modi urges to use technology to tackle terrorism, not for financing it

New technologies are being used secure funds to finance terror, and the answer is not to demonise technology but using it to track, trace and tackle terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an event on Friday.

Dark Net and private currencies have posed new challenges before the security apparatus, an official statement said quoting Modi speaking at the ‘No Money for Terror’ ministerial conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in New Delhi.

“At times even activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding. In such a complex environment, the UNSC and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are helping the war against terrorism,” PM Modi said.

Stressing on the need for physical and virtual cooperation, the prime minister said that the infrastructure used for cyber terrorism and online radicalisation is distributed while some entities also train terrorists with weapons from remote locations as well as online resources. “Communications, travel, logistics - there are many links of the chain in different countries.”

He highlighted that state support was one of the major sources of political, ideological and financial support to terrorism. Certain countries support terrorists as part of their foreign policy, he said. He also asked international organisations to be vigilant against proxy wars.

“There must be a cost imposed upon countries that support terrorism. Organisations and individuals that try to create sympathy for terrorists must also be isolated. There can be no ifs and buts entertained in such matters. The world needs to unite against all kinds of overt and covert backing of terror,” he added.

The prime minister also talked about the sources of terror funding and said that organised crime should not be seen in isolation. These gangs often have deep links with terrorist outfits. The money made in gun-running, drugs and smuggling is pumped into terrorism.

“These groups help with logistics and communication too. Action against organised crime is extremely important in the fight against terror. At times, even activities like money laundering and financial crimes have been known to help terror funding,” he said. Fighting it needs global collaboration, he added.

This is the third ministerial ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference, and India is hosting it for the first time.

The conference aims to advance discussions on combating terrorist financing held. It also intends to include discussions on technical, legal, regulatory and cooperation aspects of all facets of terrorism financing, and attempts to set the pace for other high-level official and political deliberations focused on countering terror financing.

The ongoing conference, organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the supervision of the MHA, will focus on global trends in terrorism and terrorist financing, use of formal and informal channels for securing funds for terrorism, emerging technologies and terrorist financing.