Attempts to question FATF’s credibility often reflect fear of scrutiny: India at UN
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, made these remarks on Monday (June 29, 2026) while addressing a 2026 Counter-Terrorism Week side event titled ‘Joining Forces to Counter Terrorism Financing in the Context of Evolving Threats and Emerging Technologies’.Also read| No change: On Pakistan and terror financing"The FATF remains an indispensable pillar of the global counterterrorism financing and anti-money laundering architecture. Its work is technical, evidence-based and rooted in internationally accepted standards. Attempts to question its credibility often reflect fear of scrutiny rather than genuine process-related concerns,” Mr. Harish said.The event was co-organised by the Permanent Missions of India and France to the United Nations, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).He said that countries facing adverse assessments should address the identified deficiencies, strengthen domestic enforcement, improve financial transparency, and demonstrate irreversible action against terror-financing networks."The answer to FATF scrutiny is not politicised activism in UN forums but credible compliance. States that allow their territory, institutions or financial channels to be misused for terrorism must stop exporting instability and start fulfilling their obligations towards international peace and security,” Mr. Harish said, making a thinly-veiled reference to Pakistan.Pakistan had been on the FATF grey list since 2018 but was removed in 2022.Mr. Harish told the event that he is not speaking on the issue of counter-terrorism in the abstract."For decades now, my country, India, has confronted cross-border terrorism, and new digital technologies are only making the sources, the methods, and channels used for the flow of assets more complex,” he said.India has been a member of the influential global body that sets standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing since 2010. Earlier this month, Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal was appointed Vice-President of the FATF for the July 2026 – June 2027 period.Mr. Harish noted that in the current era of technological advancements, crowdfunding platforms and prepaid instruments have become central to the funding infrastructure of global terrorist operations."Crowdfunding from radicalised individuals for terrorist financing and use of tokens, stars and points in social media platforms by terrorists to store and transfer their value are real issues of deep concern for all of us,” he said.Terrorists are technology neutral, and they adopt whatever is cheap, fast, lightly-regulated, and whatever works for them, he said."Our response must be a risk-based architecture anchored in the FATF standards,” Mr. Harish said, adding that history shows that critical terrorist financing risks have not emerged anonymously."They have been sponsored, including by some state actors,” again, a reference to Pakistan.Mr. Harish said regulation must not punish the legitimate."Steps towards financial inclusion, humanitarian action and responsible innovation are only undermined when illicit flows go unchecked. Therefore, the regulatory outcome should be proportional, not prohibitive,” he said.India has made an “honest effort" to practice what it advocates.“We have brought virtual asset service providers within our anti-money laundering framework. We have tightened verification requirements for centralised exchanges and users, and we have contributed case studies to the FATF's updates and best practices to mitigate terror financing risks,” he said.In October 2022, the Security Council
Discussion (0)