BRICS Nations Step Up Vigil Against Terror Financing, Drug Money

The BRICS countries, in their New Delhi Declaration adopted on Saturday, expressed serious concerns over illicit financial flows, including financing of terrorism, the laundering of drug-related crime proceeds, and the use of ICTs for illegal virtual asset flows. The Declaration states that drug-related money laundering, financial fraud through organised crime, and circumvention of domestic regulatory frameworks have an adverse impact on economic stability, sustainable development, and the integrity of the international financial system.

It underlines the importance of coordinated international action to dismantle these illegal networks, trace and recover criminal proceeds, protect victims, and prevent the misuse of financial institutions and emerging payment methods for large-scale fraud. It stresses the need to enhance cross-border cooperation among customs authorities, financial intelligence units, law enforcement agencies, tax authorities and supervisory bodies, including through relevant existing BRICS Working Groups and based on the documents adopted in BRICS, as well as the relevant international legal instruments to which the BRICS countries are parties.

This includes improved information-sharing, a risk-based approach, use of data analytics and capacity-building, to effectively identify, detect and disrupt money laundering schemes involving both goods and services, including those exploiting the misuse of invoicing practices, professional services and cross-border contractual arrangements. The declaration also supports the need for preventing and combating corruption and the continued implementation of relevant international agreements in this regard, in particular the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The BRICS countries also expressed concern over the situation with illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse worldwide, and recognise that it seriously threatens public security, health, safety, and well-being of humankind and undermines the sustainable development of states. In this regard, the declaration welcomed the Guwahati Declaration issued by the BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies that would facilitate operational and technical cooperation among BRICS anti-drug agencies.

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