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Cairo, 5 October 2021 - The Global Coordinated Programme on Detecting, Preventing and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT Programme) of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) within the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) held a Regional Capacity-building Workshop on “Investigation of Terrorist Financing: the Importance of parallel Financial Investigation”, in Cairo, Egypt from 3 to 5 October 2021. This event was jointly organized  with the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and hosted by The Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU). 

Hosted in a hybrid format (in-person and online), the workshop was attended by over 116 government officials from law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, and financial intelligence units (FIU) from the 21 MENAFATF member jurisdictions.

The workshop was tailored to enhance MENAFATF member jurisdictions’ technical capabilities related to financial investigation for counter-terrorism cases, in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian standards. One of the objectives of this  three-day course was to raise awareness on the importance of conducting financial investigations alongside, or in the context of, a traditional criminal investigation. It also highlighted the importance of enhancing the technical and operational capacity of all participating jurisdictions to identify and pursue terrorist financing as a distinct criminal activity and conduct financial investigations. Finally, it underlined the need to ensure the effective and timely sharing of financial information in order to establish a functioning coherent system that includes investigation, prosecution, conviction and sanctions. 

In his welcoming remarks Dr. Jehangir Khan, Director of UNCCT, said that countering the financing of terrorism remains a high priority for the United Nations and its Member States. Judge Ahmed Said El-Sisi, President of the MENAFATF and  head of the Egyptian Financial intelligence Unit and Mr. Suliman Al-Jabrin the Executive Secretary of the MENAFATF also delivered remarks at the opening session. They emphasized the urgency of providing technical assistance and capacity-building support to combat terrorism financing.

The sessions focused on the international standards and techniques related to the financial investigation  of terrorist financing.  They included case studies where such investigations  were  instrumental to dismantle terrorism networks as well as presentations on the importance of partnerships and information sharing, and the techniques to detect and investigate the use of crypto assets or money, and the use of social media to finance terrorism.

Following the workshop, the CFT Programme will continue to  engage and strengthen collaboration with MENAFATF and EMLCU. It will also offer support to interested member jurisdictions of MENAFATF through outreach and educational programmes, as well as awareness raising and capacity building workshops. 

Click here to read the recorded opening remarks of Mr Jehangir Khan, Director of UNCCT