NEW DELHI: A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is being formulated by the government to strengthen coordination among key financial and enforcement agencies while tackling cases concerning terrorist organisation, officials said on Tuesday.
The initiative aims to track irregular money flows, suspicious transactions and undeclared financial linkages among individuals and organisations to identify terror networks.
The officials said that the plan would bring together the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU) under a unified framework, which will enable the agencies to share intelligence, analyse financial irregularities and launch synchronised investigations into suspected terror-financing cases.
The unified SOP would also create “a systematic method for flagging unexplained remittances, layering of funds, dubious NGO donations and the use of shell firms or hawala routes,” the officials said.
“The agencies will pool data and insights to identify patterns suggesting links to terror financing or organised crime. The framework will focus on improving information exchange between central and state enforcement bodies, ensuring faster and more effective responses to potential threats,” a senior official said.
Notably, the new plan marks a shift toward data-driven intelligence, as this will enable authorities to deploy advanced analytics and technology-based monitoring tools to connect financial dots across multiple databases - from tax filings and bank reports to suspicious transaction alerts and cross-border remittances.
“The approach is moving from reactive investigation to proactive detection,” he said.
He further said that “By leveraging data analytics and coordinated operations, agencies can preempt fund diversions and target the masterminds who orchestrate these financial networks.”
The soon to be worked out SOP is also aimed at aligning India’s efforts with global anti-terror financing frameworks, such as those laid out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Officials believe that this will enhance India’s credibility on the international stage and strengthen its case against terror groups operating through transnational financial proxies.
With the integration of enforcement, intelligence and financial regulation agencies under one umbrella, the intent is to choke the channels funding terrorism, as every suspicious transaction, officials said, would be meticulously tracked, traced and blocked before it can be used for violent or subversive activities.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has long maintained mechanisms to combat the terror funding with establishment of the Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Cell in 2011 under it.
At present, CFT coordinates between intelligence and enforcement agencies to curb the flow of funds to extremist outfits.
Similarly, the Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell (TFFC), operating within the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has been investigating and prosecuting cases linked to terror funding and the circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
More to these, the FICN Coordination Centre (FCORD) functions as a nodal platform for intelligence sharing among central and state agencies to prevent the spread of counterfeit currency.
These efforts are supported by stringent legal provisions under Section 51(A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and international obligations under UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1267 and 1373, which empower authorities to freeze, seize, or attach assets of designated terrorist organisations and individuals.
The laws also allow the government to restrict fund movements and impose travel bans on persons linked to terrorism.
