Global Counter Terrorism Council organized the International Conference on Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism. This series of webinars lasted from
December 28 to December 29, 2020. Some key areas of focus were revisiting and rethinking AML and CFT framework in the post-Covid-19 world, the role of financial institutions and banks in AML/CFT, cybersecurity, and cryptocurrency among others.
The inaugural session witnessed deep insights from distinguished personalities like Dr. Shekhar Dutt (SM, IAS Retd), Dr. Kanwal Sibal (IFS Retd).
The chief guest for the conference was the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra and Goa (additional charge).
Governor delivered an insightful speech explaining how terrorism is not a phenomenon only associated with Pakistan, but rather it is a worldwide phenomenon.
A keynote speech was delivered by Shri Vivek Tanka, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). He talked about the legal and regulatory framework surrounding AML/CFT.
The first session for the day focused on the legal and regulatory framework in India to handle AML/ CFT. The speakers present for the session were Mr. Karnal Singh (IPS Retd), Mr. Beni Chatterjee, Mr. A.C Singh.
Another keynote speech was delivered by Mr. Sujit Kumar Varma. He spoke about cryptocurrency and the potential it possessed to feed terrorism.
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The second session witnessed the presence of speakers like Justice A.H.M Shamsuddin Chowdhury, Retd. Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Theresa Karunakaran and more. Justice Chowdhary stated, “There is no uniform law to counter money laundering all over the world which is essential.” He was of the opinion that a close connection exists between money laundering and terrorist activities which cannot be separated.
The third session focused on lacunas in legal and regulatory framework which can help to counter ML/TF. The panel for this session included Ms. Lily Vadera, Former ED of RBI, Md. Khurshid Alam Khan, Anti-Corruption Commission, Dhaka Supreme Court, and Daryl Nolch.
The fourth session focused on various mechanisms of AML/CFT in different countries. Representatives from India, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Austria.
The final session for the day focused on international cooperation against terror funding. The speakers present for this session were Shri Mahaveer Singhvi (IFS, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), MEA), Prof Anupam Jha.
The second day of the conference was kicked off by a keynote address by Admiral ( Prof.) Jayanath Columbage, Foreign Secretary, Government of Sri Lanka where he highlighted the ill effects of the Sri Lankan civil war and emphasized on the negative role of LTTE and how it developed as a sophisticated money laundering and terror financing network to fund its actions.
The first session was chaired by Pradeep Godbole on Cyber Tools Helping in Money Laundering & Ways to combat them. Speakers like Jasim Haji, Madan Mohan Oberoi and Steven Cutler participated in the session. Madan Mohan Oberoi highlighted how Dark net is used to perform crime as a service.
The second session was chaired by Rajat Kathuria on the topic Data Privacy & Data Integrity & Role of Upcoming Data Policy. It had speakers such as Nirmaljit Singh Khalsi, Pavan Duggal, Dr. Charru Malhotra and many others. Pavan Duggal described ‘data as the new oil’. Praveen Swami chaired the session on the topic ‘Emerging Trends & Challenges in Narcotics & Terror Financing in India’. It had speakers from the law enforcement agencies of India such as Rajender Pal Singh, Avinash Mohnani.
The final Session was chaired by Cleo Paskal on the topic ‘Growing Nexus of International Terrorism and Organised Crime: Definition & scope of the issue’. Speakers such as Prof. Madhav Das Nalapat, Dr. Anne Speckhard. Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler and many others participated in the session. The closing remarks and vote of thanks was delivered by Karnal Singh, IPS (Retd.) to bring close to the two-day conference.
