WELLINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little left for the United States on Thursday to take part in a global taskforce of tackling terrorism and anti-money laundering.
Little is leading the New Zealand delegation to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Ministerial Meeting in Washington D.C. on Friday.
The FATF is the international standard setter for countering the financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering. Over 200 jurisdictions around the world have committed to the FATF's recommendations.
"No terrorist act is possible without funding, for weapons, for supplies, for travel. Understanding how a terrorist or terrorist organization raises, moves and uses its funds is critical to choking the funds and to disrupting their atrocities," Little said in a statement.
The FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing.
New Zealand has been a member since 1991. Ministers from all FATF member jurisdictions meet every 10 years to confirm the FATF's mandate and set its direction, the minister said.
