Led by CIO Lev Yuriditsky and Baker Regulatory Services’ CEO Barry Faudemer, the event, which took place on October 3 at The Royal Yacht in Jersey, focused on terror financing, including the preferred methods used by such groups in the UK/Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Our main takeaways include:
- Different terror groups and types embrace varying modus operandi when raising funds across the Middle East and Africa. Institutionalized groups are challenging to detect and use financial institutions to channel funds internationally.
- Far-right extremism in the UK and Europe is on the rise. Such extremists, for example, utilize social media to circulate information to UK rioters with the aim of promoting violent disorder.
- Financial institutions need to closely monitor client onboarding and transactions for terror financing red flags. Stringent, systematic, and enhanced due diligence is essential to mitigate this risk.
- Companies need comprehensive training to identify the warning signs from those funding terror groups and acts, an appreciation of how such groups are spending their money on, and knowledge of how to spot it.