Social media platforms are used to raise funds for terrorist activities: NIA DG

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• Nov 18, 2022 | Dhupali Das

He stated that the country must strengthen its infrastructure, systems, and structures in order to...

Digital Desk: India has evidence that social media platforms are being exploited to generate terror funding, said NIA Director General Dinkar Gupta on Thursday, emphasizing that the subject will be discussed during a two-day international ministerial summit on countering terror financing.

Speaking at a press conference before the start of the summit, Gupta said that Pakistan and Afghanistan would not be attending, while China had not yet confirmed.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will conduct the third 'No Money for Terror Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing,' which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others will also attend the event. 

When asked if Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan had been invited to the summit, Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, responded, "China has been invited." Regarding the other two neighbouring nations, he remained silent.

Gupta clarified that no country-specific discussions are on the schedule but that representatives from 73 countries, including ministers from over 20 of them, would debate all topics openly, whether the source of terror, the threat, or its finances.

"Every country participating has the complete right to express its views," he said.

Gupta stated that terror activities in India had decreased over the last eight years, with a "great reduction" in terror operations in all "theatres of conflict," including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, the northeast, and places afflicted by Left Wing Extremism.

He stated that the country must strengthen its infrastructure, systems, and structures in order to combat global terrorism and its financing.

In response to a question about whether social media platform regulation should be included on the agenda of the terror finance conference, Gupta stated that social media platforms are used to raise financing, funding, or as crowdfunding platforms.

"We have evidence of this type of thing happening." Because these platforms are being utilized to raise money for terrorist activities, this is a problem that requires discussion," he said.

The director general stated that terror financing was a serious issue that needed to be addressed, whether through classic methods such as hawala, wire transfers, or cash couriers or through new methods that are emerging.

He stated that the seminar comes "back to back" after the recent Interpol General Assembly and UN Counter-Terrorism Committee meetings in India.

The DG stated that all major countries and international organizations such as Interpol and Europol will be present at the conference.

Gupta said the conference would have four sessions — ‘Global Trends in Terrorism and Terrorist Financing’, ‘Use of Formal and Informal Channels of Funds for Terrorism’, ‘Emerging Technologies and Terrorist Financing’, and ‘International Co-operation to Address Challenges in Combating Terrorist Financing.

Senior ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, will preside over the meetings.

"The two-day conference scheduled for November 18th and 19th will provide a unique venue for participating governments and organizations to discourse on the effectiveness of the current international system on counter-terrorism financing as well as initiatives required to address growing issues," an official statement said.

The conference will build on the previous two sessions, held in Paris in April 2018 and Melbourne in November 2019, and will aim to improve global collaboration to deny terrorists financial support and access to permissive jurisdictions to operate, according to the statement.

Around 450 delegates from around the world will attend the event, including ministers, heads of multilateral organizations, and heads of delegations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).