Identifying Terrorist Funds: Continuing Problems

International efforts to address the problem of Terrorist Financing have been predicated on the ability to identify known or suspected terrorists. Legislation enacted around the world in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States have imposed a responsibility on the financial community to screen their customer lists for names of known or suspected terrorist individuals and organisations.

In the early days, it appeared that considerable headway was being made in the effort to find and freeze terrorist assets, beginning with the publication of a list of names which set the pattern for what has since come to be understood as the responsibilities of the financial community in the war against Terrorist Financing.