India has called for a united global effort against all those who support terror or help generate finance for terrorism, saying there should be zero tolerance towards the menace.

Addressing the No Money For Terror conference in Melbourne, Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy expressed India’s concern over the tacit support some nations are extending to terror groups.

There is a need for a united global effort against all those who support terror or help generate finance for terrorism, he said, without naming any country.

Pakistan has been blamed for sponsoring and supporting terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, which were responsible for hundreds of attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 and the attack on Parliament in 2001.

Reddy said at the conference being attended by 65 countries that India - being a victim of cross-border terrorism - advocates zero tolerance towards terror.

He said despite the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, several active affiliates of al-Qaeda still exist in many parts of the world and cautioned that despite the recent elimination of ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, there is no room to construe that the caliphate would cease to survive.

Reddy proposed four points for inclusion in the resolution of the conference.

* Terrorism is the single biggest threat to peace, security and development.

* Nations must expedite the finalisation of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism under the UN.

* Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards must be effectively enforced and UN listings / FATF should not be politicised.

* Initiate discussion on countering financing of radicalisation, which would prevent radicalisation - an essential prerequisite of terrorism.

Reddy is leading a high-powered five-member delegation, including National Investigation Agency director general Y.C. Modi.

He said that India will host the next edition of the No Money For Terror conference in 2020.

This year’s conference is being held less than a month after the international terror financing watchdog FATF put Pakistan on notice, warning the country that it will be blacklisted if it does not control terror funding by February.

Egmont Group

The No Money For Terror conference is organised by the Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of more than 100 countries, jointly called The Egmont Group.

Recognising the importance of international cooperation in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism, a group of FIUs met a few years ago at the Egmont Arenberg Palace in Brussels, Belgium, and decided to establish an informal network of FIUs for the stimulation of international co-operation.

Money laundering and the financing of terrorism are serious crimes that threaten to destabilise the global economy.

The Egmont Group was created to provide FIUs around the world a forum to exchange information confidentially to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism and other predicate offences.

The Egmont Group is a united body of 164 FIUs. It provides a platform for the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

It continues to support the efforts of its international partners and other stakeholders to give effect to the resolutions and statements by the UN Security Council, the G20 finance ministers, and the FATF.

As a global network of FIUs, the Egmont Group’s membership is divided into eight regional groups. These groups are aligned with the FATF Style Regional Bodies, and take into consideration geographic distribution, strategic consideration in light of the growth in the Egmont Group’s membership, and regional ongoing cooperation between FIUs.

India became a member of the Egmont Group on May 29, 2007.

In July, Mariano Federici, president of the Argentina’s FIU, was designated chair of the Egmont Group of FIUs.

FIU in India

Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) was set by on November 18, 2004 as the central agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.

FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes. FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council headed by the finance minister.

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