The US is keen on sharing information with India to combat terrorist financing. Daniel L Glaser, assistant secretary for terrorist financing, US Treasury, has said that Obama administration wants to promote increased US-India cooperation to check funding of terrorists, including through increased information sharing with respect to Laskar-e-Tayiba (LT), al Qa?ida, the Taliban and other South Asia groups that endanger both India and the US.
Tragically, the 13/7 attack in this city again make crystal clear that terrorism?and terrorist financing?remain an immediate threat to India, the United States, and the entire world. Our cooperation on combating terrorism?including terrorist financing networks?is a critical part of Indo-US relationship, said Glaser.
`Shifting patterns of operational cooperation, communication, and material support among terrorist cells and criminal organisations require ongoing information sharing and coordination among civil and criminal government authorities working with the private sector,” said Glaser at a CII event on Wednesday.
India is pioneering this approach with what are known as ?small accounts.? This type of account has caps on overall value, frequency of use, and size of transactions. These safeguards limit the potential for misuse, but provide adequate functionality, particularly for individuals who rely on remittances from family members living and working away from home, he said.
According to Glaser, India provides a prime example with its Unique Identity project (UID), which will seek to allow those without acceptable formal documentation to obtain access to the financial system while cutting down on economic crimes, such as identity theft and social welfare fraud.
However financial institutions still need to monitor low-risk accounts, but less frequently and less intensely than with higher-risk accounts. This allows a more efficient allocation of resources, since financial institutions focus their compliance resources on higher risk threats. Although the concept of a risk-based approach may seem simple, it can be difficult to implement. It requires financial institutions to recognise risks and react appropriately, both when opening accounts and when monitoring account activity, cautioned Glaser.
Countries all over the world are allowing the use of new payment technologies and business models to bring financial services to those currently outside the formal financial system.
In many cases, existing bank branches and money transmitter agents are simply not convenient, and establishing new ones is not cost effective. But by using the internet or a cell phone to access financial services, a much larger percentage of the population can have access to safe, efficient, and convenient financial services. At the same time, the increased transparency helps investigative authorities obtain information that is essential for identifying terrorist cells and criminal organisations, he said.