On October 21, 2015, the Financial Action Task Force—an intergovernmental organization with the goal of developing polices to combat global money laundering—issued a report discussing emerging terrorist financing threats associated with foreign terrorist fighters, fundraising through social media, new payment products and services, and the exploitation of natural resources. On October 21 to 23, 2015, the FATF also held their first plenary meeting where they noted that terrorist financing is a top priority for the FATF. The report notes that though concerns regarding foreign terrorist fighters are not new issues, the recent conflict in Syria and Iraq has escalated their importance; they are now considered one of the key forms of material support for terrorist groups. The report describes foreign terrorist fighter funding needs, sources and methods used by foreign terrorist fighters and the challenges in combatting these threats. The report also highlights how new technologies, such as social media, can increase vulnerabilities with respect to terrorist financing. Other topics discussed at the plenary meeting include de-risking in the financial system and new FATF webpages discussing various AML/CFT compliance topics.
The FATF report is available at: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Emerging-Terrorist-Financing-Risks.pdf.
The FATF meeting press release is available at: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfgeneral/documents/outcomes plenary-october-2015.html.
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