The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the US Department of Treasury, has partnered with 12 other global regulatory agencies to form the Counter Terrorist Financing Taskforce – Israel (CTFTI). The members include, Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These financial intelligence units (FIUs) aim to disrupt the funding of Hamas as well as other terrorist organizations. Hamas, as well as several other Middle East terror groups, receive significant support from Iran.
The new task force issued the following statement pertaining to the formation of the group:
We, the Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States (the “Task Force Members”), and other like-minded FIUs, established an international task force immediately following the brutal terror attacks by Hamas against Israel on October 7.
Led by four Co-Chairs, including FIUs Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States, the purpose of the task force is to combine and strengthen the efforts to disrupt the international money flows related to Hamas and support global anti-terrorism efforts through the coordination of financial intelligence and information sharing. The October 7 terror attacks on Israel served as a grave reminder of a core mission of our FIUs: to detect, disrupt and prevent the financing of terrorism.
To effectuate disruption of the financing of Hamas and other terrorist groups, the Task Force Members commit to taking concrete actions to:
1. Enhance financial intelligence on terrorist-financing related matters and associated financial flows and economic activities;
2. Expedite and increase sharing of financial intelligence in terrorist financing-related matters and associated financial flows and economic activities;
3. Discuss FIU best practices, lessons learned, and opportunities for additional actions and partnerships to combat and disrupt terrorist financing activities; and
4. Strengthen and facilitate working relationships between FIUs and competent public authorities and the private sector addressing this threat.
The Task Force Members said the private sector plays a vital role in the initiative, and they will be coordinating closely with financial services firms.