Experts discuss terror financing

Experts discuss terror financing

SINGAPORE: Terror financing and anti-money laundering experts from over 30 nations began meeting in Singapore on Wednesday, with several Southeast Asian countries expected to outline new measures to prevent the bankrolling of militant activities in the region.

More than 400 officials and experts on terror financing are expected to attend the three-day conference.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines will outline their policies to prevent money laundering and measures to combat terror funding, a statement from the Financial Action Task Force said.

The meeting will conclude with the Paris-based group releasing its annual report on Friday. The 33-member FATF was set up in 1987 to monitor and fight money laundering, and in 2001 expanded its role to combat financing of terrorist activities.

The FATF has said existing government regulations were out of date and ill-suited to battle terror funding.

It has recently recommended requiring international travelers to report large amounts of money carried across borders and tighter controls on religious groups and charities to stop them from being used to fund terrorists.

It also keeps a blacklist of "Noncooperative Countries and Territories" who have failed to comply with international anti- money laundering standards. The most recent list includes Myanmar, Nauru and Nigeria. -- AP