Activities of Ana GOMES related to 2017/2203(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Cutting the sources of income for Jihadists - targeting the financing of terrorism (debate) PT
Amendments (16)
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas as a result of data leaks in recent years the awareness about the links between money laundering and tax evasion with organised crime and financing of terrorism has increased considerably, and these issues have become a major focus of international political concern; whereas as acknowledged by the European Commission, recent media reports have also linked large-scale VAT and excise fraud with organised crime including terrorism1a; _________________ 1a http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP- 17- 3441_en.htm;https://www.euractiv.com/se ction/economy-jobs/news/eu-targets- terror-financing-with-vat-fraud- crackdown/
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas there is a need for a preventive strategy based on the exchange of basic information among intelligence agencies involved in combating the financing of terrorism; and adequate enforcement of legislation to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing; whereas tackling the financing of terrorism globally must entail global standards of transparency of ultimate beneficial owners of corporate entities, trusts and similar arrangements, to shine a light on financial opacity which facilitates the laundering of criminal proceeds and the financing of terrorist organisations and actors;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is a need for an institution-based European platform – which thus far has existed on an informal basis – to centralise the receipt of information, which is currently spread out among 28 Member States and through which Member States can provide information on their levels of engagement and progress relating to combatting terrorism financing;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas a number of international non-profit organisations, charities and other foundationorganisations and networks, some of them located in Gulf countries, act as a cover for abusive practices; whereas surveillance of these networksgathering of intelligence about these networks and their links with actors in the EU, which are often extensive, is therefore vital; whereas their support for the expansion of extremist Salafism in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, often through financing from governmental sources in the Middle East, cannot be tolerated;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas ISIS/Da’esh remains the terrorist organisation with highest income in the world, despite the fall in revenues since 2014, notably attributed to decreases in oil prices; whereas, according to the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT), its sources of financing primarily derive from: illicit proceeds collected from its occupied territories, (such as the appropriation of banks’ assets, extortion, control of oil fields and refineries, and illicit taxation), kidnappings for ransom, donations from various groups, including local non-profit organisations that act as proxies for laundering proceeds for the financing of terrorism, and revenue raised through sophisticated communication networks; whereas human smugglers networks have also shown to be providing income to ISIS/Da'esh, namely in Libya; whereas it’s crucial to tackle these streams of revenue through an international collaborative effort;
Amendment 90 #
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, illegal fund transfers 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 ISIS/Da’esh is also laundering the proceeds of stolen antiquities and smuggled art pieces and artefacts by selling them abroad, inclusively in markets in Member States; whereas these sources could allow ISIS to continue funding future criminal acts after its military defeat;
Amendment 117 #
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 setting up a European counter-terrorism intelligence platform with an in-depth focus on the exchange of basic information, within the framework of existing structures (e.g. EUROPOL) so as to avoid the creation of yet another agency, with an in-depth focus on the exchange of basic information on the financial support for terrorist networks, such as Da'esh/Al-Qaeda; that platform will create a joint database for data on physical and legal persons and suspicious transactions; 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 committing, organising or supporting terrorist acts must be held to account for their actions;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) calls on the Member States to step up the monitoring of suspicious financial activities, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to access suspicious transactions, taking account of the proportionality principle and the right to privacy; calls on the Member States to provide more training for and increase the specialisation of investigators in order to achieve that; call on the Commission to support and adequately fund the development of training programmes for law enforcement and judicial authorities in Member States;
Amendment 154 #
(ea) calls on Member States and the Commission to provide an annual report on progresses made and measures taken concerning the fight against the funding of terrorism and, namely, efforts made to hamper ISIS/Da’esh’s financing; reminds that some Member States are more invested than others in the field of targeting terrorism financing and thus the best response should be to increase information-sharing, namely pertaining to the effectiveness of measures already put in place;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) calls on the EU Member States to establish a monitoring system to ensure that mosques,religious, social and cultural associations and similar entities, when suspected of having ties to terrorist groups, provide details of how the funds they receive are distributed, both within and outside the EU, and calls for all the transactions made by those sending funds to be recorded in a centralised database, set up with all the appropriate guarantees; calls for the introduction of mandatory ex ante monitoring of the source of money and its destination where charities are concerned, so as to prevent money being distributed maliciously or negligently for terrorist purposes;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l – introductory part
Paragraph 1 – point l – introductory part
(l) calls on the Member States to regulate hawala, and other similar service providers or informal value transfer systems, namely through the ongoing procedure for the adoption of a Regulation on controls on cash entering or leaving the Union (2016/0413(COD)) making it mandatory to declare to the authorities every transaction made using the hawala system, and emphasising that the aim is not to crack down on traditional informal money transfers, but on carrying checks about possible trafficking involving organised crime, financing of terrorism or industrial/commercial profits deriving from dirty money; in this respect, calls for:
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point m a (new)
(ma) calls on the Commission to carry out an assessment on the implications for terrorism financing involving e-gaming activities, virtual currencies, crypto currencies, block chain and FinTech technologies; calls, furthermore, on the Commission to consider possible measures, including legislation, to create a regulatory framework for these activities in order to limit the tools for terrorism financing;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point m b (new)
(mb) notes the specific risks of terrorism financing through money or value transfer services (MVTS); calls on Member States to devise an enhanced partnership and cooperation between MTVS agents and European law enforcement agencies and to issue guidelines to identify and address any specific barriers that prevent information sharing on suspicious money transfers;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r
Paragraph 1 – point r
(r) urges the High Representative and the EEAS to enhance cooperation with the countries in which the proceeds of drugs trafficking are held, and with the countries of origin of illicit white cigarettes (smuggled to countries where they have limited or no legal distribution), so that they can be seized;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
(ra) urges the High Representative and the EEAS to lead initiatives in the international fora to enhance corporate ownership transparency, namely through the creation of a public registers of legal entities, including companies, trusts and foundations, and of a central register of bank accounts, financial instruments, real estate property, life insurance contracts and other relevant assets which might be abused to launder money and finance terrorism;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
(rb) urges Member States to adopt the VAT Reform proposals by the European Commission swiftly, to prevent criminal organisations from exploring the gaps in the European VAT system to finance terrorism and other criminal activities;