CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler Discusses New Age Of Terror
Financing





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EU Should Adopt New Approach To Curbing Misuse Of Cryptocurrencies By
Extremists

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler Discusses New Age Of Terror
Financing



(New York, N.Y.) – Cryptocurrencies are paving the way for extremists and
terrorists to facilitate domestic and cross-border funding, while
simultaneously working outside regulated channels. On November 3, Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director and former Coordinator of the U.N.
Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh), al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team
Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
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op-ed, “Cryptocurrencies: The New Age of Terror Financing
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highlighting the challenges for regulators and law enforcement agencies to keep
up with the rapidly evolving technology.



“Anonymity enhancing technologies,” such as encrypted algorithms, mixers,
tumblers, or so-called “piracy coins,” make it impossible to see the
transaction paths, how much is held in a wallet, or gather information on the
identities of the transaction partners—leaving law enforcement unable to
effectively crack down on terrorist funding. To combat potential abuse of
cryptocurrencies in the EU, Dr. Schindler argues that there should be a
centralized oversight system that utilizes all resources available.



“Rather than continuing the competition between law enforcement authorities in
EU countries for the best talent while also competing with the private sector
for the same limited pool of specialists, it may be necessary to think about
alternative models, such as private-public partnerships or the provision of
technical investigation services at a central hub, such as for example within
EUROPOL.”



In 2020, CEP and Berlin Risk published a joint study, Cryptocurrencies As
Threats To Public Security And Counter Terrorism: Risk Analysis And Regulator
Challenges
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, which highlighted the dangers and risks associated with terrorist groups
utilizing cryptocurrency to finance extremist activities and warned that it is
“essential to increase the level of existing expertise of government agencies
and to reduce the coexistence of parallel regulatory responsibilities in the
fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, especially in the
crypto sector.”



Since then, however, CEP researchers have found that extremist groups and
their supporters are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies.The Base
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and supporters of theNational Socialist Order
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have requested donations through the cryptocurrency platforms BitCoin and
Monero, and pro-ISIS supporters have used chat channels on multiple occasions to
encourage
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the use of cryptocurrencies.



To read Dr. Schindler’s op-ed Cryptocurrencies: The New Age Of Terror
Financing,please click here
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.



To read CEP and Berlin Risk’s 2020 report Cryptocurrencies As Threats To
Public Security And Counter Terrorism: Risk Analysis And Regulator Challenges,
please clickhere
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.



To read CEP and Berlin Risk’s 2020 policy paper and recommendations for new EU
cryptocurrency regulationsFurther Development Of European Union Regulatory
Framework For Cryptocurrencies Necessary To Mitigate Risks Of Terrorism
Financing, please click here
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.



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