At a time when the crypto market is in chaos due to the collapse of FTX, the Indian government is firming up its stand against virtual currencies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, emphasized on Friday, on the use of the ‘darknet’ by terrorist groups to spread radicalized content and that there is a need to find solutions to such dark networks which saw an uptick in the use of cryptocurrency.
The Home Minister was addressing the third ‘No Money for Terror’ Ministerial Conference and stressed on the need to build efficient operational systems against virtual asset channels. He said that despite fortifying the security architecture and financial systems, the terror groups are still successful in radicalizing youth and also raising funding for it.
“We also recognize that the threat of terrorism cannot and should not be linked to any religion, nationality, or group. To confront terrorism, we have made significant progress in fortifying the security architecture and the legal and financial systems. In spite of this, terrorists are constantly finding new ways to carry out violence, radicalize youth and raise financial resources,” he said
“Terrorists are using the Darknet to spread radical content and conceal their identities. Additionally, there is an increase in the use of virtual assets like cryptocurrency. We need to understand the patterns of these Darknet activities and find their solutions,” the Home Minister added.
He tagged Virtual assets as a new challenge for countries in their fight against terror and stressed that the method is widely used by terror groups for their financial transactions. He also targeted, without naming, countries that “hinder” the collective will to fight terrorism.
“We have a new challenge in the form of Virtual Assets before us. New methods of virtual assets are being used by terrorists for financial transactions. To crack down on the use of virtual asset channels, funding infrastructure, and darknet, we need to work coherently towards developing a ‘robust and efficient operational system’,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there are countries that seek to undermine, or even hinder, our collective resolve to fight terrorism. We have seen that some countries protect and shelter terrorists, protecting a terrorist is equivalent to promoting terrorism. It will be our collective responsibility that such elements never succeed in their intentions,” the minister added.
While explaining the transformation in the module formed by the terrorist, the home minister used an expression of “Dynamite to Metaverse” and “AK-47 to Virtual Assets.” He added that terrorists now understand modern weapons and the nuances of information technology.
“This transformation of terrorism from “Dynamite to Metaverse” and “AK-47 to Virtual Assets” is definitely a matter of concern for the countries of the world. And we all have to work together to formulate a common strategy against it,” he said.
With inputs from ANI
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
Less
