Criminalizing the Financing of Terrorism

This article begins with the widespread expectation that ‘followingthe money trail’ would be an effective means of hamperingterrorist activity. So far, however, that effectiveness hasbeen less than certain, and financial services providers arguethat, at most, they would be able to check names against lists(they are adamant that the risk-based approach does not applyhere). Legal difficulties deepen the factual problems: boldstatements in international Conventions that terrorist activitiesare not political crimes, do not really solve the fundamentaldilemma that a distinction needs to be made between freedomfighters and terrorists if combatants are merely aiming at therestoration of the democratic order. On a more practical level,international organizations (namely the United Nations and theFinancial Action Task Force on Money Laundering) have createda system of mechanisms to freeze suspected funds of terrorism.So far, the procedures for freezing and de-freezing do not meetthe generally accepted standards of a fair hearing (as definedby the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsor the European Convention on Human Rights). The author concludesthat the current way of dealing with the issue of financingof terrorism is far from convincing.