Bitcoin under the spotlight in the EU over terrorist financing

The EU is stepping up controls on Bitcoin and prepaid cards to help block terrorist funding

From Business Insider –

“The European Union will increase controls on pre-paid cards, money remittances and bitcoin in a bid to curb terrorism funding after the attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.

EU interior and justice ministers agreed on Friday in Brussels to tighten checks on payment methods that may be conducted anonymously and might be used by terrorist organizations to finance attacks.”

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Terrorism, fines and money laundering: why banks say no to poor customers

From The Guardian –

“The tightening of international banking standards is making it difficult for low-income people in the global south to get access to banking services.

When people in developing countries don’t have access to a bank account, physical proximity to a bank is usually the first challenge that springs to mind, but sometimes the reason a person is unable to access a secure place to store their savings is as simple as them not having a piece of paper to prove who they are.

Banking regulations vary between countries, and some allow banks to set their own rules about what proof of identity they accept for new customers to make sure no one is excluded. In South Africa Standard Bank accepts a letter verifying a person’s address from a tribal chief for certain accounts, while Postbank offers a Mzansi account, which does not require any proof of address but only offers basic transactional services and has a balance limit of 25,000 South African Rand (£1,362).”

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GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan Attacks Tech Giants For Being 'In Denial' Over Terrorism

From Huffpost Tech UK

‘The new head of Britain's electronic eavesdropping agency has accused internet firms of being "in denial" of the role their networks play in terrorism and demanded they open themselves up more to intelligence services.

GCHQ director Robert Hannigan said they had become the "command-and-control networks of choice" for a new generation of web-savvy criminals and extremists, such as Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

Better arrangements had to be developed to allow security and intelligence agencies to police online traffic, Hannigan said in an outspoken article for the Financial Times, warning firms that their users did not want their social networks used "to facilitate murder or child abuse".’

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Banks Watching Terrorism Trial in Brooklyn

From New York Times

‘Banks are watching the first civil trial against a bank under the Anti-Terrorism Act with some trepidation. Opening arguments start in the United States District Court in Brooklyn on Thursday.

The lawsuit accuses Arab Bank of knowingly handling accounts and money for terrorists. Arab Bank says it checked its account holders against the appropriate lists of designated terrorists. The bank says it could not turn over important records the plaintiffs sought because of foreign-bank secrecy laws. But that is not an argument that the bank will be allowed to make to the jury.

If following standard compliance procedures means a bank can still be held liable if transactions get through in error, that would set a troubling precedent, the bank contends.’

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