Money laundering as dangerous as terrorism

Money laundering as dangerous as terrorism

Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda
stressed on Tuesday a deadly link between money laundering and
the financing of terrorism, and concluded that both must be
eradicated along with terrorism itself.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day international
conference on money laundering at the Bali International
Convention Center (BICC), the minister added that long before it
was linked to terrorism, money laundering had already been
regarded as one of the most pernicious forms of economic crimes
because of its connection to transnational crime.

"Money that is successfully laundered is invariably used to
finance the expansion of the dirty business that produced it,"
Hassan said, adding that in the long run, unabated money
laundering has the effect of destabilizing the national economy
and contributing to political instability and to the breakdown of
public order.

"As long as money can be laundered, terrorism can be financed
and carried out to kill more innocents and wreak havoc on our
lives," he asserted.

Despite the fact that money laundering had been detected a
long time ago, Indonesia passed a law only this year to eradicate
the crime.

Indonesia and Australia are co-hosting the conference, which
is aimed at augmenting and contributing to the existing
initiatives being undertaken at regional and international levels
against money laundering.

The co-hosting of this conference highlights the continuing
commitment of the two countries to combat financing terrorism and
money laundering in the region.

The two-day meeting was officially opened by Australian
Justice Minister Chris Ellison and Indonesian foreign minister
Hassan Wirayuda.

The conference also drew high-level representatives from the
governments, international organizations and the private sectors
of 33 countries from Asia and the Pacific Rim, including
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, East
Timor, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Thailand and the
United States. International organizations represented at the
conference included the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank,
the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank,
the United Nations Development Program and the European
Commission.

Hassan said that transnational organized crimes had become so
methodical, so dependent on modern science and technology, and so
ambitious in their ill intentions that they could not possibly
operate without sizable logistics.

"Without massive logistics, they cannot possibly maintain
their shadowy network of cells and they cannot run from one
hideout to another in a bid to outrun the long arm of the law,"
he noted.

For example, investigations into the Bali bombings have
indicated that around US$30,000 was made available to terrorists
to carry out their horrific attacks.

"This money is surely worth nothing if we compare it to the
devastating effects that it instigates. I am not only talking
about the grave loss of lives to the families of the victims,
which is beyond any measure, but also to the billions of dollar
losses resulting from the bombing's negative economic impacts,"
he maintained.

The first day of the conference covered overviews of
participating countries' efforts in combating money laundering
and its link to terrorism.

In his presentation, Curtis A. Ward, Adviser on Technical
Assistance of the United Nations Security Council, said the
challenge posed by international terrorism in its new
manifestation had awakened the global community to a clearer
understanding of the need for new measures to enhance the level
of cooperation between states at the bilateral, regional and
international levels.

The UN Security Council has thus imposed several resolutions
to deal with this contentious issue.
beginning with the establishment of the Counter Terrorism
Committee (CTC).

In addition, the Security Council has set up the Counter
Terrorism Committee (CTC), which is tasked with monitoring the
compliance of states with the requirements of the resolution, and
receiving reports from states on the actions they have taken to
implement the resolutions.

States are required to demonstrate, concisely and clearly, the
legislative and executive measures they have in place, or have
contemplated, to give effect to the resolution.

"The process of capacity building for combating terrorism will
be a long-term commitment for all. There is no quick fix for the
problems, hence long-term support of the donor community is
needed.

The meeting on Tuesday also revealed Indonesia's experience in
dealing with money laundering, as presented by Senior Deputy
Governor of Bank Indonesia Anwar Nasution.

The outcomes of the conference will be a Co-chairs' Statements
and Report, which will summarize the discussions of the
conference. The report will be designed to feed into and inform
future international and regional work on these issues, including
the Pacific Rim Conference in March 2003, as well as other
regional forums.