
Combating illicit trade a key pillar of Belgium’s anti-radicalisation strategy says deputy prime minister Jan Jambon.
A Brussels conference has been told that the lucrative trade in illicit goods is helping to finance terrorist organisations such as Islamic State.
Speaking on Tuesday at a conference on counterfeit trade, Belgium’s deputy prime minister Jan Jambon said the “shadow economy” had helped finance those behind the terrorist atrocity in Brussels nearly 12 months ago.
The event was also told that the international community is “losing the battle” against the trade in illicit goods and that European governments “do not get” the scale and nature of the problem.
In a keynote speech, Jambon said, “An enormous illegal economy has been created worldwide, stimulating a tangle of obscure flows of money, allowing terrorists and their direct accomplices to organise themselves in a kind of parallel universe.”
Related Posts
Customs agency nails 7 cigarette smugglers
South Korea's customs authorities said Tuesday they have arrested or indicted...
Syrian smugglers shun weapons and turn to cigarettes for profits
They used to sneak in weapons and blackmarket oil. But now eastern Syria’s...
Customs files smuggling raps vs Batangas rice importer
MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed on Thursday smuggling...
Fake goods worth millions confiscated in two EC busts.
The authorities have seized millions of rands worth of goods in two separate...