110/02
24 October 2002
GORDON BROWN ORDERS IMMEDIATE FREEZING OF JEMAAH ISLAMIAH’S ASSETS
Chancellor Gordon Brown last night instructed UK financial institutions to freeze any accounts belonging to Jemaah Islamiah with immediate effect.
Announcing the asset freeze the Chancellor said:
“Jemaah Islamiah engages in terrorism. Its aim is to establish a extensive fundamentalist republic covering Malaysia, Singapore and parts of the Philippines, and it is prepared to bomb, shoot and kill to achieve that end. By freezing its assets we will undermine its future operations.
“If fanaticism is the heart of modern terrorism, then finance is its lifeblood. All countries must act to cut off the supply of terrorist finance.”
The Chancellor and Home Secretary today published a report outlining UK action in combating the financing of terrorism. The report provides a comprehensive overview of what the UK together with its international partners has achieved in targeting, disrupting and cutting off the sources of terrorist finance including:
- Over 100 organisations and 200 individuals have been placed on sanctions lists and any assets frozen;
- Over 20 arrests, 15 charges and the first conviction for terrorist financing;
- 15 non-governmental agencies are being investigated for suspected links to terrorism through charitable contributions;
- There have been 3500 suspicious transactions reported since September 11th, with 600 being passed to the Financial Intelligence Unit at NCIS for investigation. The Unit has also produced three detailed reports on high profile individuals suspected of being involved in the financing of terrorism.
The report points out what further work is needed including:
-
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) should finalise the precise obligations of countries and give the support necessary for implementation;
-
Develop further in-depth intelligence on terrorist networks;
-
Increase the multilateral capacity to share information;
-
Speed up the process of identifying individuals with suspected terrorist links.
Announcing the publication of Combating the Financing of Terrorism the Chancellor said:
"The measures taken by the Government internationally and domestically, have laid a firm foundation for the continuing effort to combat the financing of terrorism. Clear results are already emerging in large part due to the great efforts of all the agencies involved including the police and intelligence services. Those at the forefront of the effort confirm that the United Kingdom’s armoury of measures places us in a leading position to tackle terrorist financing.”
Home Secretary David Blunkett added:
“The bombings in Bali have once again shown the world the evils of terrorism.
“The United Kingdom is at the forefront of combating the terrorists on many fronts – including cutting off access to their sources of funding.
“These measures are part of a series of robust but proportionate new powers we have given to our law enforcement agencies to help them safeguard our way of life against those who would take our freedom away.”
Notes for Editors
The Chancellor has instructed the Bank of England to ensure that all UK financial institutions should freeze assets belonging to Jemaah Islamiah from 00.01 Thursday 24 October.
Jemaah Islamiah is to be designated to the UN on 23 October as a terrorist organisation with links to Al Qa’ida.
The report Combating the Financing of Terrorism can be found on this site.
Media enquiries should be directed to HM Treasury Press Office, Tel: 020 7270 5238.