Soldiers of the Philippines (Photo: VNA) Sydney (VNA) – AustralianJustice Minister Michael Keenan on November 22 announced the establishment ofthe Southeast Asia Counter-Terrorism Financing Working Group, which will linkfinance intelligence units across the region to counter terrorism financing.
The group, designed to prevent the flowof funds suspected of being used to fund terrorist activities, was joined byAustralia and six Southeast Asian nations of Malaysia, the Philippines,Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore.
Speaking from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiawhile attending a 35-nation counter-terrorism financing summit, the Australianofficial said the group had been formed to cut off the funding supply lines ofthe Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist organisations.
Accordingly, Australia’scounter-terrorism financing agency (AUSTRAC) will for the first time share criticalintelligence with anti-terrorism units in ASEAN countries, including thePhilippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to create a "firewall" in Southeast Asia againstfunding of IS and other terrorist groups.
It is the first such cross-countryagreement of its kind, as authorities fear that even small amounts of money flowinginto emerging terror hot spots could fund significant attacks, with the 2002Bali bombings estimated to have been funded with less than 100,000 USD.
A regional risk assessment conductedby AUSTRAC estimated that foreign sources transferred more than one million USDin terrorism financing into Indonesia between 2014 and 2015. Australia recordedthe highest number of “suspicious” transactions with 536 last year whileSingapore recorded 205 cases.-VNA
