UN resolution on IS oil trade anticipated
A draft resolution is to be submitted to the UN Security Council that will specifically target so-called Islamic State’s (IS) trade in oil and art according to French finance minister, Michel Sapin.
In an interview with Agence France Press (AFP), the minister said he expects to involve electronic messaging platform, SWIFT, as a source of information on IS oil trades while the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) would be tasked with ensuring countries implement tougher anti-money laundering regulations.
Oil smuggling
Sapin told the French news agency that the resolution will be based on an earlier resolution targeting Al-Qaeda, with the new resolution explicitly extended to IS.
It will particularly aim to freeze assets that in one way or another stem from oil smuggling.
Art trade
It will also demand that states exercise special vigilance with regard to IS involvement in trading works of art.
The UN resolution would provide legal support to countries taking action against IS finances, Sapin said.
FATF and sanctions
The international community would then need to ensure that states were taking the same measures – a task that would fall to FATF, which would review each country to see if it has taken all the necessary measures.
If FATF finds weaknesses in a country’s systems under the new resolution then sanctions could be taken against that country the finance minister said.
Sapin also called for improvements in data exchanges and indicated that SWIFT’s system could be employed for that purpose.
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