'Rise of crypto use for terror finance a big concern'

At the 'No Money For Terror' ministerial conference on counter-terror financing which concluded here on Saturday, Canada highlighted the huge increase - to the extent of nearly 2,000% over the past few years in the use of virtual assets for terror.

- Bharti Jain

The growing use of virtual assets or cryptocurrencies, sources pointed out, has been the most prominent change in the pattern of terror financing, amid continued use of methods like illegal trade, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, drugs, counterfeit currency, artefacts and cultural property, illicit trade in natural resources and wildlife, state-sponsored financing, profits from businesses and through charitable organisations.