A huge
amount of NRI funds come for charity- Must audit to stop terrorism
Tracking terror money trail
Ahmedabad, Monday, December 22, 2008
NDTV
Rohit Bhan
It's the oldest clue in the book, the money trail.
And now an advisory from intelligence agencies wants security agencies
in Gujarat to track just that -- money that funds terror in India.
Specifically, they are investigating the local contacts
of a Chennai-based software and investment company.
The Gujarat anti-terror squad has told them that
this company channeled hawala money into India to fund terror strikes
like the Ahmedabad blasts on July 26. The anti-terrorism squad sources
say:
Some religious and non-banking institutions in the
state were using the company's network to collect funds for terror
They use local courier companies in Surat and Bharuch
to route the money from Gulf countries
Some money was even sent to Assam to fund terror
there.
An NGO is also involved. It is believed to have diverted some of
its funding for the Ahmedabad multiple blasts
But why Gujarat?
Former intelligence head of Gujarat police J Mahapatra
says Gujarat is the prefect gateway because a huge amount of NRI
funds come in normally, as well as money meant for charity.
"There is no audit of the charity money. The
primary expenditure might look genuine but a part of it which is
the secondary expenditure is likely to be misused as terror fund."
Sources in the Gujarat police say that the ATS has
roped in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to carry out a
crackdown on these channels of fundings. It already got the DRI
to file a case against a Surat based courier agency which it suspects
was routing the money for terror acts.
Police officials believe that an effective way of
preventing terror would be by blocking its funds. And this is what
security agencies in Gujarat are working on.
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