© UNODC
Pemba (Mozambique), September 2024 – Terrorists and organized crime networks depend on cash flow to recruit, arm and expand their influence. Cutting off this financial lifeline is one of the most effective ways to cripple their operations.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with financial support from the Government of Japan, organized two workshops in Pemba, Cabo Delgado, linking criminal justice institutions with key actors from the private sector: mobile phone operators and digital payment services and financial institutions.
Through facilitating such public-private partnerships, UNODC seeks to enable the criminal justice system to quickly detect and disrupt criminal activity more efficiently through the use of key data on communications and financial transactions, in particular those linked to terrorism.
Enhanced know-how in mobile and digital payment data analysis
Terrorist groups increasingly use mobile devices and digital payment platforms by terrorists to coordinate and finance their activities.
The first workshop provided crucial training to investigators, prosecutors, and judges based in Pemba in analyzing and interpreting the complex and technical data provided by mobile operators and digital payment services.
This data – and the know-how to analyse it – is a crucial component in criminal investigations and prosecutions of terrorism and terrorist financing-related cases.
The workshop participants received guidance from mobile operator experts on how to accurately analyse data, ensuring that their findings can be effectively used for the investigation and prosecution of these offences.
Participants showed increased accuracy in interpreting mobile and digital payment data, as well as increased capacity to conduct investigations.
As a result of the training, judicial processes have also been strengthened through the availability of more reliable evidence, while compliance with legal standards and regulations has also improved.
Notably, responses by mobile operators to information requests issued by the criminal justice sector have decreased, in some instances from 3 months to just 48 hours.
This means that investigators and prosecutors can access critical data in near real-time. This information allows them to secure vital evidence.
This training also fostered improved cooperation among different justice sector bodies, as well as with mobile operators to improve information sharing and operational coordination.
“The exchange of views between the different sectors supports mutual understanding and the exchange of contacts helps to speed up the exchange of information related to terrorism,” said one participating official.
Engaging financial institutions in counter-terrorism efforts
The second workshop focused on improving collaboration between law enforcement and financial institutions in the fight against terrorism and its financing.
In his opening remarks, Antonio de Vivo, Head of the UNODC Office in Mozambique, emphasize the importance of coordinated efforts to disrupt terrorist financing.
"Without financing, there is no terrorism," he stated, underscoring how terrorists rely on continuous financial flows to operate and expand their activities.
He called for rapid and efficient information sharing between financial institutions and law enforcement, noting that delays in communication could have severe consequences for national security.
Mr. De Vivo further highlighted the need for public-private partnerships in combating terrorism financing. Urging banks to collaborate closely with the Attorney General’s Office and the National Criminal Investigation Service in these efforts.
“Banks are not just service providers but critical partners in building a safer society, with an active responsibility in supporting justice sector institutions,” he said.
The increased collaboration between justice and private sectors resulting from these workshops marks a milestone Mozambique’s counter-terrorism efforts.
By enhancing the capacity of criminal justice officials to interpret complex data and by fostering collaboration with financial institutions, as well as enhancing coordination between engaged actors, UNODC continues to support strengthened security and stability in Cabo Delgado and across Mozambique.
These activities were made possible thanks to the generous support of Japan.
