In the parlance of the War on Terror, references to “terrorist financing” evoke images of international networks of hardened terrorists and other criminals engaged in plots to undermine state authority and create chaos through violent attacks upon civilian targets. Terrorists frequently traffic in arms, drugs and human beings to finance their illicit activities. To disguise the identity of the actors in these criminal ventures and evade detection of the related proceeds, terrorists use legitimate financial institutions, charities, informal cash transfer systems, and other means to move funds within and across borders.
Winsome Packer, Director of Non-Proliferation, Centre for Security, Counter-Terrorism and Non-Proliferation at the Caribbean Maritime University.
While Jamaica today, confronts some of the most serious crimes in the annals of its history, including arms and drug trafficking, the specter of terrorism has, thankfully, spared the country so far. However, Jamaica hosts some of the common precursors for breeding terrorists, including the existence of gangs which are engaged in financial criminal activities, such as lottery scamming, extortion and protection rackets, contract killing and hired violence, and arms and narcotics trafficking. Combined with a high rate of poverty; elevated levels of unemployment; and a less than ideal justice system, Jamaica presents a fertile breeding environment for terrorists.
Still, the recent approval of an order by the House of Representatives which would have compelled attorneys to report suspicious financial transactions by their clients in relation to terrorism was an act of overreach which clearly would run up against the principle of Attorney-Client privilege. The Government should be commended for acknowledging this conflict when the order was challenged by the Jamaican Bar Association. What is needed to mitigate exploitation of the financial infrastructure by criminals and terrorists are continued investments in education and training for youth, in which the Caribbean Maritime University excels, so that they will have meaning work opportunities; the bolstering of human, technical and legal capacities to identify and impede terrorist and criminal financial transactions; and interagency cooperation at the local and international levels.
