The United States wants India to join financial action task force, an initiative to curve financing to terrorist outfits.
Jimmy Gurule, a member of the American law institute and an adviser to US treasury department to combat terrorist financing, said in Kolkata that Indian banks and financial institutions should take more pro-active approach to see the end use of transactions.
According to him, the banking channel is gradually becoming the most preferred way of transaction for terrorist outfits.
"It is a myth that terrorist outfits are not using the banking channel. They are utilising this because it is safest and quickest way of transacting money globally," he said.
He pointed out that other two channels like Hawala and bulk cash couriers have lost significance for the outfits because it is risky and slow.
Citing the example of how Russian drug mafias utilised banking channels in United States, he said that ABN AMRO Bank was fined $80 million for not adequately tracking some transactions.
"Since 9/11, we have frozen bank account in US worth $200-300 million. This is huge money if we consider that Al-Qaeda had spend close to $0.5 million for the 9/11 incident. So you could easily understand what $300 million could do," he added.
Gurule cautioned bankers that as US norms were becoming more and more stringent, the terrorist outfits might use network of countries like India for monetary transactions
