03-22-2007, 08:21 AM
Terror funds moving through banks too
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2007 02:09:23 AM]
NEW DELHI: Just over a month after National Security Advisor MK Narayanan told a conference in Munich that terrorist outfits were manipulating stock exchanges to source funds, the government on Wednesday officially conceded that banking channels, too, were a significant route for movement of terror finances.
âAs per available reports, terrorists and terrorist organisations active in India are using different channels to fund their operations. They route their funds mainly through hawala and other informal means. Banking channels are also a significant route for movement of funds by such elements,â minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Clarifying on the relevant observations of the NSA regarding use of legal channels like stock exchanges and bank transfers by the terrorists, Mr Jaiswal said Mr Narayanan had only recounted methods adopted by terror outfits to generate funds and had pointed towards the reported âmisuseâ of the formal financial system by the terrorists.
Though the governmentâs revelation on terrorists using legal banking channels has come now, the huge foreign remittances to obscure Bihar towns like Siwan have already been a source of worry for the intelligence agencies. Mr Jaiswal on Wednesday sought to assure the Elders by stating that the government was pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to deal with terrorist operations and supporting states to neutralise their activities.
He said the revenue, security and law enforcement agencies were regularly sensitised to pursue an inter-agency approach to detect these channels and the use of funds received by the terror groups. âThere is continuous co-ordination between home, defence, finance and other ministries dealing with security-sensitive sectors,â he said, adding that proposals relating to such sectors were referred to the home and defence ministries for vetting from the security angle.
Mr Narayanan had in February stunned the nation by referring to the manipulation of stock exchanges at Mumbai and Chennai by terror outfits through fictitious companies. Listing some of the methods being adopted by the terror outfits for movement of their funds, Mr Narayanan named the hawala route, legal banking transactions, investment in real estate and legal businesses and the narcotics trade as the favoured channels.
Mr Narayananâs revelation had the Opposition questioning the appropriateness of the NSAâs making public the vulnerability of Indian stock exchanges at an international forum. Besides, the government was also criticised for its âsoftâ stance on fighting terror. In fact, the Opposition alleged that it was this âkid-glovesâ approach that had emboldened the terrorist outfits to extend their reach to the countryâs stock exchanges.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2007 02:09:23 AM]
NEW DELHI: Just over a month after National Security Advisor MK Narayanan told a conference in Munich that terrorist outfits were manipulating stock exchanges to source funds, the government on Wednesday officially conceded that banking channels, too, were a significant route for movement of terror finances.
âAs per available reports, terrorists and terrorist organisations active in India are using different channels to fund their operations. They route their funds mainly through hawala and other informal means. Banking channels are also a significant route for movement of funds by such elements,â minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Clarifying on the relevant observations of the NSA regarding use of legal channels like stock exchanges and bank transfers by the terrorists, Mr Jaiswal said Mr Narayanan had only recounted methods adopted by terror outfits to generate funds and had pointed towards the reported âmisuseâ of the formal financial system by the terrorists.
Though the governmentâs revelation on terrorists using legal banking channels has come now, the huge foreign remittances to obscure Bihar towns like Siwan have already been a source of worry for the intelligence agencies. Mr Jaiswal on Wednesday sought to assure the Elders by stating that the government was pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to deal with terrorist operations and supporting states to neutralise their activities.
He said the revenue, security and law enforcement agencies were regularly sensitised to pursue an inter-agency approach to detect these channels and the use of funds received by the terror groups. âThere is continuous co-ordination between home, defence, finance and other ministries dealing with security-sensitive sectors,â he said, adding that proposals relating to such sectors were referred to the home and defence ministries for vetting from the security angle.
Mr Narayanan had in February stunned the nation by referring to the manipulation of stock exchanges at Mumbai and Chennai by terror outfits through fictitious companies. Listing some of the methods being adopted by the terror outfits for movement of their funds, Mr Narayanan named the hawala route, legal banking transactions, investment in real estate and legal businesses and the narcotics trade as the favoured channels.
Mr Narayananâs revelation had the Opposition questioning the appropriateness of the NSAâs making public the vulnerability of Indian stock exchanges at an international forum. Besides, the government was also criticised for its âsoftâ stance on fighting terror. In fact, the Opposition alleged that it was this âkid-glovesâ approach that had emboldened the terrorist outfits to extend their reach to the countryâs stock exchanges.