Sept 19: India is facing threats of terrorist financing from groups active in Jammu & Kashmir, according to a report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released on Thursday.
The Paris-headquartered body said, "India's main sources of money laundering originate from within, from illegal activities committed within country." It added that the country faced "disparate" range of terror threats, most significantly from ISIL (Islamic State or ISIS) or AQ-linked groups (Al Qaeda) active in and around Jammu and Kashmir.
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The global watchdog in its latest report rated India "moderately" effective on its parameter of "money laundering investigation and prosecution".
The FATF report said that money laundering convictions in India over the past five years have been affected by constitutional challenges and an overwhelmed court system. India's courts face huge backlogs, leaving many cases pending for years, it said.
The Enforcement Directorate seized assets worth 9.3 billion ($10.4 billion) from suspected financial criminals over the past five years, the report said, but confiscations following convictions amounted to less than $5 million. "It is critical India addresses these issues in view of accused persons waiting for cases to be tried and prosecutions to be concluded," it said. —HT
