New Delhi: A meeting of the multi agency centre (MAC) convened by the Home Ministry has decided to work on ‘specific targets’ in India who are working as middlemen between foreign based terrorist organizations and terrorist members active in the country.
The decision was taken after the Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) disseminated suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and cash transaction reports with other agencies in the meeting.
Sources in the security establishment told ETV Bharat on Monday that the meeting was attended by the Intelligence Bureau, Cabinet Secretariat, all the law enforcement agencies, including NIA, State Police, and CBI.
“During the meeting that was held last week, representatives from the FIU also disseminated suspicious transaction reports and cash transaction reports with other agencies highlighting that forces inimical to India’s security have been providing monetary support with the use of latest digital mode to anti-India groups active in the country,” sources said.
The FIU is the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information related to suspected financial transactions. It is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing global efforts against terror financing.
“FIU disseminates STRs and CTRs to intelligence and enforcement agencies on a regular basis,” sources said. It is worth mentioning that FIU-IND has negotiated and entered into bilateral MoUs with 47 FIUs in foreign jurisdictions. It is also a member of Egmont group and exchanges intelligence on terrorist financing with other FIUs.
“There are regular meetings of the multi agency centre where we exchange information. If there is any credible information that comes out, which needs action, that is shared through this inter-agency coordination to the law enforcement agency to act on that,” sources said.
There has been a perceptible increase in activity of terror financing through virtual currencies which includes bit coin etc. “There was an instance in Bangalore in 2022 where there was a bomb blast in a three-wheeler and there was a suspect called Mohd Sharikh who was arrested. When we did the investigation into the financial flows in his account, we found that small amounts of money had come through the virtual assets,” sources said.
In the said meeting, according to the sources, all the intelligence agencies have also decided to identify the leaders active in India who could be tagged as individual terrorists. Till date, the Government of India has declared 44 organizations as terrorist organizations and 56 individuals as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
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