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Analysis

G20 Finance Conclusions on Terrorist Finance, 1999-2009

Drawn from G20 finance communiqués
Anton Malkin, G20 Research Group, August 2009

Summary of Conclusions on Terrorist Finance in G20 Finance Communiqués

Notes: *emergency meetings

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Definition

Brian Jenkins has defined terrorism as “the violence or threat of violence calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm — in a word, to terrorize — and cause panic, disorder, and terror within an organized society, thereby bringing about some social or political change.” The U.S. State Department defines it as “pre-meditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence and audience,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. These broad definitions are applied to terrorist finance, as set out by the criteria identified here.

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Criteria

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Conclusions on Terrorist Finance in G20 Finance Communiqués

Ottawa, Canada, November 16-17, 2001
Communiqué

We are committed to combating terrorism by cutting off its financial sources. There should be no safe havens for the financing of terrorism. To this end, we have agreed on an Action Plan to deny terrorists and their associates access to our financial systems. We call on other countries to take similar steps.

We recognize that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable are facing acute challenges in the midst of the global economic slowdown, in particular the increased uncertainty resulting from the terrorist attacks. We look forward to participating constructively in the International Monetary and Finance Committee and Development Committee meetings with a view to ensuring that appropriate international support is available to complement the sound national policies needed to generate economic recovery in those countries most affected.

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Ottawa, Canada, November 16-17, 2001
G20 Action Plan on Terrorist Financing

We, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G20, in the name of global peace and security, are determined to stop the financing of terrorism. The fight against terrorist financing is a shared responsibility of the G20 and the broader international community. We have therefore adopted today a comprehensive Action Plan of multilateral cooperation to deny terrorists and their associates access to, or use of, our financial systems, and to stop abuse of informal banking networks.

We will implement quickly and decisively measures that the United Nations have identified as essential to combating terrorist financing. We will block terrorists’ access to our financial system. We will work with the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and other relevant international bodies to prevent abuses to the financial system and threats to its integrity through the promotion of international standards relevant to terrorist financing, money laundering and financial sector regulation and supervision. We welcome the conclusions of the recent FATF extraordinary plenary on terrorist financing. Above all, we will enhance our ability to share information domestically and internationally as a vital component in the fight against terrorism.

We encourage all nations to join the international effort to choke off the financing of terrorism. Where a country’s willingness outstrips its ability to act in concert with us, we will provide technical assistance in accordance with this Action Plan.

In pursuing these commitments, we have agreed to the following concrete steps:

Freezing Terrorist Assets

• Each G20 member will implement the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, particularly UNSCR 1373, to stop the financing of terrorism.
• To this end, each G20 member will, within its jurisdiction, freeze the assets of terrorists and their associates and close their access to the international financial system.
• Each G20 member will, consistent with its laws, make public the lists of terrorists whose assets are subject to freezing, and the amount of assets frozen, if any.

Implementation of International Standards

• Each G20 member will ratify and implement the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism as soon as possible.
• Each G20 member will ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
• We will work co-operatively and in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, FATF, FSF, Basle Committee of Banking Supervisors (BCBS), and other relevant international bodies to promote the adoption, implementation, and assessment of international standards to combat the abuses of the financial system, including in respect of terrorist financing, financial regulation, and money laundering. We welcome FATF’s offer to work collaboratively with us in implementing eight special recommendations on terrorist financing.

International Cooperation: Exchange of Information and Outreach

• We will enhance our cooperation on the international exchange of information, including regarding actions taken under UN resolutions. G20 member countries will promptly implement such measures as are necessary to facilitate this exchange.
• Each G20 member will establish promptly, or maintain, a Financial Intelligence Unit and will take steps to enhance information sharing among them, including through promoting universal participation in the Egmont Group of such units.
• We will promote the fight against terrorist financing within our respective regions, and will ask other countries to join this Action Plan.
• An important element of this effort is the work of the regional FATF-style anti-money laundering bodies. Accordingly, the G20 calls on these regional bodies to meet promptly and to expand their mandates to include terrorist financing.

Technical Assistance

• We are committed to providing, where possible, technical assistance to countries that need help in developing and implementing necessary laws, regulations and policies to combat terrorist financing and money laundering.
• We call on the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and other multilateral and regional organizations to provide technical assistance, including by expanding existing programs and training centres.

Compliance and Reporting

• To promote implementation and compliance with international standards, and to share information regarding our respective laws, regulations, and best practices to address terrorist financing, we will support the activities of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee. We will also actively support surveillance and voluntary self-assessment through the IFIs, FATF and relevant international bodies.
• We will respond positively to the FATF’s invitation to participate in a self-assessment of the eight special recommendations on terrorist financing.
• We encourage the FSF to undertake work respecting the actions of financial sector regulators in the fight against terrorism at its next meeting.
• We will ensure that our financial institutions and citizens comply with measures to combat the financing of terrorism and other financial crimes, and will assist them to do so, including through informing financial institutions of their obligations and new developments.
• We urge the regional FATF-style bodies to actively contribute to the FATF’s worldwide self-assessment program.
• We will review our progress on this action plan at our next Ministerial meeting.

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Delhi, India, November 23, 2002
Communiqué

1. We, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G20, held our Fourth Meeting today on 23rd of November 2002 at New Delhi, India. We reviewed the global economic situation and outlook, and deliberated on matters concerning crisis prevention and resolution, globalisation, the challenge of achieving sustained growth and development and combating the financing of terror. We reaffirm our conviction that increasing integration of the global economy is producing benefits, including improvement in living standards and reduction of poverty, and our commitment to maximize these benefits through domestic policies, strong institutions, and enhanced international cooperation.

Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and other Abuses of the Financial System

• When we last met in Ottawa, Canada, in November 2001, we resolved to deny terrorists and their associates access to, or use of, our financial systems. While that meeting was shadowed by the events of September 11, 2001, today the recent tragic events in Bali and Moscow reinforce our resolve to combat terrorism and those that would fund it. To this end, we reviewed the progress made in implementing our Action Plan, including the freezing of terrorist assets, implementation of international standards, exchange of information, provision of technical assistance, and reporting on our actions. We also agreed to continue our efforts to eliminate other abuses of the financial system, particularly money laundering. We pledged to carry forward our work in this regard, through support of the activities of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and other relevant international fora, and through appropriate domestic actions. We will review progress on these matters at our next meeting.

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Morelia, Mexico, October 26-27, 2003
Communiqué

We remain committed to disrupting terrorist financing networks. We recognized that this effort requires a focus on both the formal and informal financial sectors. Therefore, while we will continue efforts to improve our formal financial systems, to expand their scope, and to protect them from this abuse, we will also concentrate efforts to subject informal financial sectors to appropriate monitoring and enforcement actions. We pledged to carry forward our work in this regard, through support of the activities of IFIs and other relevant international fora, and through appropriate domestic actions. We resolved to advance our implementation of the AML/CFT standards. We welcomed the good progress on the IMF/World Bank pilot program in cooperation with FATF, and we look forward to making terrorist financing and money laundering assessments a permanent part of IMF and World Bank work. In this context we urged FATF to make progress, as appropriate, in the enlargement of its membership.

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Berlin, November 20-21, 2004
Communiqué

10. While we have made progress in fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism since 11 September 2001, much remains to be done. FATF regional style bodies are expected to be an important element of our efforts and we welcome the recent establishment of the Eurasian Group on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG). We look forward to the early admission of China in the FATF. We are committed to implement the revised FATF Forty Recommendations and the FATF Special Recommendations. We welcomed the decision by the IMF and the World Bank to make comprehensive assessments on money laundering and terrorist financing a regular part of their work. We are agreed on the importance of responding to the challenges posed by illegal cash couriers and by the use of the informal sector for remittances and we supported the FATF’s current efforts to address these issues more effectively. In this context we welcomed the new FATF Special Recommendation IX on cash couriers and urge its efficient implementation.

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Melbourne, Australia, November 18-19, 2006
Communiqué

We reaffirmed our commitment to take action against money laundering and terrorist and illicit financing. We commend and encourage closer cooperation between the IMF and World Bank and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as FATF-style regional bodies in promoting stronger implementation of international AML/CFT standards. We call on FATF and FATF-style regional bodies to continue to broaden the support base for their work and for all countries to strengthen their AML/CFT regimes and publish their comprehensive country evaluations.

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