Lack of common approach hinders fight against terrorizm financing

Lack of a common approach stipulated by an international document hinders fight against terrorism financing, said Boris Mylnikov, head of the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center and deputy director of the Russian Federal Security Service in an interview in Moscow.

"There is a list of organizations unanimously classified as terrorist by the international community, and there are organizations classified differently by different states," he explained, when talking on the problems of fight against terrorism financing.

According to the OSCE information, the accounts of terrorist organizations that have been frozen are very few, he said. "Terrorist organizations have worked out a number of financial schemes, which are known, but no judicial measures have been adopted that could allow preventing the use of these schemes," he pointed out.

Problems with freezing such accounts arouse also due to the banking and commercial secrets. "There are even problems at the domestic, not only international level, this issues has not been settled so far," Mr. Mylnikov added.

Fight against terrorism is also hindered by double standards in defining terrorism, he said, mentioning the problem of Chechnya.

"A common definition of terrorism has not yet been adopted and until it is, double standards will remain, whether we want them or not," Mr. Mylnikov concluded.