Following terrorist attacks in Paris, the Financial Action Task Force have issued warnings that terrorists could potentially be using crowdfunding by masking the real reason of funding to instead fund terrorist organizations.

Originally developed as a means for businesses, organizations and individuals to raise money, the FATF have warned of possibilities of terrorists using crowdfunding to transfer money to a completely different end as advertised by “avoiding regulated financial entities.”

This leads to questions surrounding crowdfunding website’s obligations to monitor systems and ensure increased awareness of false advertising, similarly to Twitter who have “stepped up their efforts to suspend accounts” used to communicate with terrorist propaganda.

John Byrne, vice president of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, said “We need more public campaigns, such as those offered on identity theft, elder abuse, and other frauds. Bottom line—we need to pay attention”.

 

Safiya Bashir on 16/11/2015