Activities of Sofia SAKORAFA related to 2017/2203(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Cutting the sources of income for Jihadists - targeting the financing of terrorism (debate) EL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on cutting the sources of income for jihadists – targeting the financing of terrorism PDF (464 KB) DOC (71 KB)
Amendments (29)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard to the Manama declaration on countering terrorist finance of 9 November 2014,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
– having regard to FATF Best Practices on Targeted Financial Sanction related to Terrorism and Terrorist Financing,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)
Citation 4 c (new)
– having regard to FATF statement of 24 October 2014 on countering the financing of ISIL as well as to FATF report of February 2015on the Financing of the Terrorist Organisation Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 d (new)
Citation 4 d (new)
– having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10
Citation 10
– having regard to the nieleventh Security Union Progress Report, published by the Commission on 27 July18 October 2017;,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) “Addendum to the Algiers Memorandum on Good Practices on Preventing and Denying the Benefits of Kidnapping for Ransom by Terrorists” of September 2015,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12
Citation 12
– having regard to United Nations Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1989 (2011), 2133 (2014), 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2253368 (20157),
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas one of the key elements of the fight against terrorism is to cut off its sources of financing including through the hidden circuits of fraud and tax evasion, money laundering and tax havens;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas according to several reports, jihadi terrorist organisations, in particular ISIL/Da'esh and al-Qaeda, earn their revenues primarily from illicit proceeds from occupation of territory, such as bank looting, extortion, control of oilfields and refineries, robbery of economic assets, illicit taxation of goods and cash that transit territory where ISIL/ Da'esh operates; kidnapping for ransom, donations including by or through non- profit organisations; material support, such as support associated with Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and fundraising through modern communication networks;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas modern communication networks and crowdfunding, in particular, have proven to be a cheap and efficient way of generating funds to finance terrorist activities or manage the jihadi network; whereas terrorist groups have been able to gather additional funds for their activities, using phishing attacks, identity theft or purchasing stolen credit cards details in online forums;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas jihadi terrorist organisations are generating income from engaging directly or indirectly in the looting and smuggling of cultural heritage items from archaeological sites, museums, libraries, archives, and other sites which is being used to support their recruitment efforts and strengthen their operational capability to organise and carry out terrorist attacks; whereas the value of these transactions is hard to estimate as they are primarily cash transactions;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas legally sourced financing can be diverted by the recipient to third parties, individuals, groups, companies or entities with links to terrorist activity;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas given that terrorism is a global crime, the effective response to it must also be a global one, with coordination and thelose international coordination between financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies, and exchange of basic information on physical and legal persons, and suspicious activity, being absolutely vital;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas almost all Member States’ jurisdictions have criminalised terrorist financing as a distinct offence;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas there is a need for a preventive strategy basesustained, comprehensive and preventive strategy based on the collaboration of all states and international and regional organizations and on the exchange of basic information among intelligence agencies involved in combating the financing of terrorism;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is a need for an institution-based European platform – which thus far has exis European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC), an operations centre and hub of expertise of Europol was created oin Jan informal basis – to centralise the receipt of information, which is currently spread out among 28 Member Statesuary 2016 to address the growing need for the Member States to strengthen their collective response to terror;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas a number of international non-profit organisations, charities and other foundations, which have or claim to have social or cultural goals, some of them located in Gulf countries, act as a cover for abusive practices; whereas surveillance of these networks, which are often extensive, is therefore vital; whereas their support for the expansion of extremist Salafism in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe cannot be tolerated; whereas Saudi diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks in 2015 reveal a system of funding for mosques, Islamic centres and Saudi-trained clerics that spans Asia, Africa and Europe;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas Al-Qaida’s global fundraising network is built on donations to charities and NGOs, which communicate with donors through social media and online forums; whereas Twitter and Facebook accounts have also been used to ask supporters for donations to the cause of jihad. Whereas, in recent years, several smart phone applications have been developed by terrorist organisations to maximise the outreach and encourage donations from supporters, most of them located in Gulf countries;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas this expansion at EU border and in our neighbouring countries and partners is particularly alarming ; whereas extremist Salafism has been nurtured in the Balkans through Saudi- sponsored preachers, mosques and madrassas ever since the1990s ; whereas dire economic conditions especially among the youth, growing disillusionment towards European integration and an ongoing strong influence from Islamic heavyweights as Saudi Arabia and Turkey are some of the elements of a worrisome mix turning Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, FYROM and the Sandzak region of Montenegro into an area of rising Islamist radicalization;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas ISIS/Da’esh is attempting to channel its money out of its diminishing territory in Syria and Iraq via oil exports, investment in businesses, including money service business, illegal fund transfers, money and professional couriers and compulsory exchanges of foreign currency for ISIS/Da’esh currency; whereas ISIS/Da’esh is laundering the proceeds of its criminal activities by buying businesses and assets of all kinds; whereas these sources could allow ISIS to continue funding future criminal acts after its military defeat;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) takes the view that a preventive strategy based on the exchange of basic information among intelligence agencies is vital in combating the financing of terrorism; calls on Europe’s intelligence agencies to improve coordination by setttepping up a European counter-terrorism intelligence platformthe ECTC with an in-depth focus on the exchange of basic information; that platform will create a joint database for and data on physical and legal persons and suspicious transactions taking particular account of possible impacts on fundamental rights and in particular the right to the protection of personal data; emphasises that the information concerned must include, inter alia, a directory of banks, financial institutions and commercial entities both within and outside Europe, as well as third countries which have shortcomings when it comes to combating the financing of terrorism; reiterates that those responsible for directly or indirectly committing, organising or supporting terrorist acts must be held to account for their actions;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) calls on the Commission to provide funding for programmes fostering the sharing of best practice among Europe’s intelligence agencies; calls on Member States to ensure sufficient funding and human forces in intelligence agencies;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) calls on the Member States to make better use of the informal network of European Financial Information Units (FIU.net), on the basis of the work done by Europol for the purpose of sharing the information concerned with the European counter-terrorism intelligence platform by implementing the 4th Anti- Money Laundering Directive and its amendments that are currently being negotiated and by adopting regulatory measures to address other issues stemming from the divergent status and competences of Financial Intelligence Units, in particular to facilitate coordination and exchange of information both among Financial Intelligence Units, and between Financial Intelligence Units and law enforcement authorities;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) calls on the Council of the European Union to step up the application of selective sanctions and other restrictive measures against those individuals and entities and calls on the freeze of the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of these individuals, groups, undertakings and entities, including funds derived from property owned or controlled directly or indirectly, by them or by persons acting on their behalf or at their direction, and on the ensure that neither these nor any other funds, financial assets or economic resources are made available, directly or indirectly for such persons’ benefit, by their nationals or by persons within their territory; welcomes the establishment of the UNSC committee responsible for supervising the application of sanctions, and calls on all the Member States to act swiftly in blocking funds and financial assets;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) welcomes the proposal for a regulation on the import of cultural goods; calls on the Commission to bring in a traceability certificate for artworks and antiques entering the EU market and originating in territories or places controlled by jihadists; calls on the Member States to establish police units that are specialised in dealing with the trafficking of cultural goods, and to ensure coordination of those units across the Member States; calls on the Member States to make it mandatory for companies involved in art dealing to declare all suspicious transactions, imposing penalties – including criminal penalties, where necessary – for the financing of terrorism through negligence on the owners of companies dealing in art and antiques who become involved in the trafficking of such goods;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q