Lords investigate terrorist financing

Saturday, 20 December 2008 8:00 AM

Lords are gearing up to investigate the European Union's tactics against terrorist financing and money laundering.

The Lords EU committee's inquiry is set to be undertaken by the sub-committee on home affairs and will look at the role of the EU and its member states in global efforts to prevent the financing of terror.

The committee will consider what impact the ruling of the European court of justice (ECJ) in the Kadi case will have on EU efforts to tackle the problem.

In the case in question, the ECJ ruled the European Union could not implement a UN Security Council resolution to impose economic sanctions on Yassin Abdullah Kadi, an associate of Osama bin Laden, as he had not had the opportunity to put forward his comments on the proposed sanction order.

The case reflects an assumption by the ECJ that it has jurisdiction to review sanctions already imposed by the UN Security Council, the Lords claim.

Commenting Lord Jopling, chairman of the Lords EU sub-committee on home affairs, said: "The international, cross-border fight against terrorism will increasingly rely on cutting off terrorists' sources of funding.

"In the modern world of lightening fast money transfers and terrorists using sophisticated financial vehicles to both generate and distribute funds it is vital that nations and international bodies such as the EU take steps to co-ordinate their efforts on preventing money laundering.

"Our inquiry will look at the EU's position on this vitally important matter particularly following the Kadi ruling. We invite written evidence from people with an interest in this issue and will begin to hear oral evidence in February."

Other areas to be investigated by the committee will be the respective future roles of Europol and Eurojust in countering money laundering and terrorist financing and the effectiveness of cooperation between financial intelligence units.

Tags:
• crime
,
• domestic policy
,
• policing and crime
,
• terrorism