COLERAINE (UK), Oct 17: The United Kingdom would extend support and assistance to countries implementing the measures to combat terrorist financing as money laundering transactions around the globe are now estimated to be 1.5 trillion dollars a year.

Speaking at a conference on “Fighting Financial Crime” on Tuesday, British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Dr Denis MacShane, said the UK Government has worked with partners abroad to develop a framework for international co-operation on money laundering. He said a key element in this framework is codes and standards, which capture best practice in the control of money laundering, and provide a focus for each country’s efforts to strengthen its systems.

US Under Secretary for Enforcement, Jimmy Guruli, Head of Legal and Enforcement Department Swiss Federal Banking Commission, Urs Zulauf, Governor Central Bank of the UAE Sultan Nasser Bin Al Suwaidi, and Director of Global Anti Money Laundering Citigroup Inc, Richard A. Small, are among a few of those who attended the conference.

The British MP said the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the body that sets these standards against money laundering, has carried out a Non-Co-operating Countries and Territories exercise to identify and evaluate the legal, judicial and regulatory framework of jurisdictions whose systems do not appear to meet international standards to ensure worldwide coverage of the FATF’s 40 Recommendations.

Dr MacShane said negotiations are underway to complete a new UN convention against corruption by the end of next year.

The new UN Convention would be in addition to the 2000 UN Convention against Trans-national Organised Crime.

About assistance to developing countries, the British MP said technical assistance would be offered to low and middle income countries to implement the FATF and similar regulations.

The UK, he said, is using its position as chairman of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee to keep counter- terrorism legislation and measures to combat terrorist financing as the highest priority for states in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

The MP said programmes presently being funded in this area of work are the development of counter-terrorism legislation for 48 states who have requested such assistance; delivery of a programme of assistance by the UK Charity Commission to help strengthen specific countries’ charity regulatory mechanisms to ensure their activities cannot be misused to support terrorism; and a range of projects being offered to overseas law enforcement agencies to identify, investigate and counter terrorist financing activities.

On the terrorist finance front, the MP stressed the need to ensure that charities, bureaux de change and other remittance services are licensed and regulated. We need to help regulate the Hawala banking system and not vilify it he said.