Money collected through mosques, etc. used for terrorist activities in India

New Delhi : The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global organisation that takes action against countries which provide financial support for terrorism, has recently published a report titled ‘Crowd funding for Terrorism Financing'(appealing the society for donations and using that money to promote terrorism). Information provided by the Indian authorities is mentioned on page number 38 of this report. It is said that a violent extremist organisation in India collected funds through well-structured networks spanning the entire country. Resorting to solicitation at mosques and public places, the group’s fundraising tactics included offline and online mechanisms, such as circulating QR codes and account details through which donors were asked to send money. Over 3,000 bank accounts and informal value transfer systems were used. Funds were ultimately used to procure arms and ammunition and for training the cadres of the violent extremist organisation, among other purposes.

Although the name of the organisation concerned was not mentioned in the report, the English newspaper ‘Indian Express’ identified the organisation as the’Popular Front of India’ (PFI). The Union Government has banned this Jihadi terrorist organisation last year. These funds raised through crowd funding were also invested and parked in businesses and real estate projects to generate regular income for terrorism activities. The FATF report has stated that 8 extremists were apprehended, and prosecution complaints have been lodged against them. Additionally, a sum of Rs. 3.5 crore was confiscated from their possession.

Source: Sanatan Prabhat