Combating Financial Terrorism: Kiribati Must Do More

The Ongoing Threat of Terrorist Financing

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has sounded a stark warning about the ongoing threat posed by terrorist financing, emphasizing that countries must do more to combat this menace. Kiribati, as a small island nation with limited economic resources, is particularly vulnerable to financial terrorism due to its remote location.

FATF President’s Warning

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council’s open debate on counter-terrorism, FATF President warned that terrorist organizations will stop at nothing to fund their activities, including using illegal means to access funds. He emphasized that “terrorists will try to find new ways to fund their malign activities - but we can and must identify these schemes, and stop them in their tracks.”

Kiribati’s Efforts to Combat Financial Terrorism

The FATF has identified several key areas where Kiribati needs to improve its efforts to combat financial terrorism:

• Strengthening Criminalization and Prosecution: Strengthen the criminalization and prosecution of terrorist financing cases, as nearly two-thirds of countries assessed so far have been found to be ineffective in prosecuting these crimes.
• Improving Interagency Coordination: Improve interagency coordination and information sharing among government agencies to prevent the misuse of financial systems by terrorist organizations.
• Enhancing Cooperation with the Private Sector: Enhance cooperation with the private sector to identify and prevent terrorist financing schemes.

Key Challenges Facing Kiribati

Kiribati is facing significant challenges in combating financial terrorism, including:

• Ineffective Implementation of Sanctions: Despite enacting necessary legal measures to implement targeted financial sanctions, there is a lack of effective implementation in applying these sanctions.
• Limited Capacity and Resources: As a small island nation with limited economic resources, Kiribati faces significant challenges in building its capacity to combat financial terrorism.

International Support Needed

The FATF has called on the international community to provide support to small island nations like Kiribati to help them build their capacity to combat financial terrorism. The organization emphasizes that “we will continue using our assessment processes to ensure that States adequately implement these obligations, and hold accountable States that do not.”

Conclusion

Combating financial terrorism is a critical challenge that requires collective action from governments, private sector organizations, and international institutions. Kiribati must take immediate steps to strengthen its laws, enforcement mechanisms, and coordination with other stakeholders to prevent the misuse of its financial systems by terrorist organizations.