Combating terrorist financing must be an integral part of the security policy agenda, said former German Finance Minister Jörg Kukies at the press conference for the “No Money for Terror” event. The conference will help pave the way to closer integration, he said.

FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo highlighted the important role that financial flows play in facilitating terrorism. By turning off the tap of money, we can cut off the terrorists’ “blood supply”, she said. Jörg Kukies emphasised that the increasing sophistication of digital financing methods cannot be neglected in this context.

As well as many measures at the level of the EU and the FATF, Jörg Kukies also mentioned steps that are necessary at the national level. Among other things, he referred to the Act to Improve the Fight against Financial Crime (Finanzkriminalitätsbekämpfungsgesetz), which could no longer be adopted in the 20th legislative period, as well as freezing assets in the context of EU sanctions.

According to Kukies, data retention for the purpose of fighting terrorism also needs to improve. This is an area where Germany has to do its homework, he said. Mandatory storage of IP addresses by telecommunications providers is required in order to identify perpetrators and effectively fight crime, the minister said.