Global Terror Infrastructure and Implications for India continues...

These nine sources of funding of terrorist activities in India have also been reiterated in the US State Department’s 2007 Country Review on Terrorism. Moving funds for terrorist purposes to the actual locale where a terrorist act is perpetrated is a carefully executed exercise. Terrorist outfits, as a rule, employ money laundering techniques so as to evade detection by Enforcement Agencies. The most popular means employed in South Asia for laundering funds is the “underground and parallel banking system” which ensures placing of funds without actual or visible movement of money. This is popularly called as “hawala.”

A combination of conventional money laundering techniques, with placement of funds utilizing the “underground and parallel banking system” has made it extremely difficult to track funds utilized for terrorist purposes, since no audit or paper trail is available. The globalization of terror, and the ability of terrorists to exploit state-of-the-art technology, further enhances their capability to move “hot money” across international borders. It has also facilitated “narco-terrorism” very greatly.

Narco-terrorism refers to the nexus between narcotics and terrorism. Since the sources of terrorism in India lie beyond the domestic frontiers in Pakistan and elsewhere, the growth of illicit narcotics trade funds terrorist activities in India. Afghanistan and the NWEP of Pakistan are the biggest producers of opium in the world, which generates huge sums of money in the international market. The drug proceeds are used by the Pakistan government and the non-government agencies to destabilize India. The LTTE was the most efficient drug-runner, and co-ordinates the smuggling from its office in Palermo Sicily in Italy.

Sponsoring terrorism is an expensive affair and money for killing, kidnapping and sabotage does not come through proper channels. It comes through illegal and unofficial channels. It fetches cash in sackfuls for one kilogram of heroin from the Golden Crescent that costs approximately one lakh rupees in South Asia, fetches nearly a crore of rupees in the US market. The figure varies from place to place, which further depends on the law and order situation.

to be continued...

( This account is maintained by Har Anand Publication )