SOCHI, November 10. /TASS/. Russia is monitoring financial transfers to the territory of the countries where international terrorist organizations are active, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said on Tuesday at the 7th regional conference of the International Association of Prosecutors of Central and East Europe and Central Asia.
"We took under special control financial transfers to the territories where international terrorist organizations are present. The assets of terrorists are being arrested through legal means," Chaika said.
He noted that the Russian system of fighting against financing terrorism "has received a positive assessment from experts from FATF [Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering] and UN Counter-Terrorism Committee."
Chaika reminded that Russia’s Supreme Court recognized the Islamic State and Jebhat al-Nusra as terrorist organizations.
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Russia calls for accelerated development of UN convention on international terrorism
Yury Chaika has said it is necessary to accelerate the development of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
"Our stance is very simple and straightforward. It is necessary to join forces to create such conditions for terrorists so that they cannot escape and evade justice," the prosecutor-general said speaking at the conference.
Chaika recalled that at present there was a variety of anti-terrorist documents of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. There are 13 such documents at the UN, for example, on the unlawful seizure of aircraft, hostages and on nuclear terrorism.
"In the context of the existing UN counter-terrorist acts, I believe it will be expedient to facilitate the development of a single comprehensive convention on international terrorism. It should enshrine, in particular, the generally-accepted definition of terrorism, the provision on the non-use of political reservations during extradition and rendering legal assistance on terrorism cases and the "extradite or prosecute" principle," the prosecutor-general said.
Islamic State terrorist group
The Islamic State is an terrorist group banned in Russia. In 2013-2014, it called itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In June 2014, IS announce the establishment of the "Islamic caliphate" on the territories seized in Iraq and Syria. According to US’ Central Intelligence Agency, the extremist group includes around 30,000 people, while Iraqi authorities claim there are around 200,000 in IS. Among members of the group are citizens of 80 countries, including France, Great Britain, Germany, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, US, Canada, as well as Russia and other CIS countries. According to reports, militants now control around 40% of the Iraqi territory and 50% of the Syrian territory.