By : Agus *)
In the middle of fears of growing support for Islamic State (IS) movement, a money-laundering watchdog has discovered inflows of funds from Australia to groups supporting the activities of IS in Indonesia.
The agency had been working with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), and had discovered that some of the funds used by IS in Indonesia had originated from Australia, Financial Transactions and Analysis Centre (PPATK) deputy chairman Agus Santoso said on Monday.
Agus said during an international conference on IS organized by former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Hendropriyono, “We have detected supporting funds from an Australian source to terrorist networks in Indonesia.”
Agus explained further “I cannot discuss it in much detail but we have given this information to Densus 88 (counterterrorism unit) for further investigation. Although I cannot disclose the amount, I can confirm for sure that the amount does not reach the millions of dollars,”.
On another hand, Australian Embassy spokesman Linda Kemp gave statement “The Australian government values the long-standing cooperation between AUSTRAC and the PPATK.”
Previously, Densus 88 has arrested 5 people who allegedly facilitated the travel of 16 Indonesians recently detained by Turkish authorities for intending to cross the country’s border to join IS in Syria.
Acting National Police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the five arrested men were still being questioned about their role, but added that investigators strongly suspected that they were also involved in spreading IS propaganda.
*) The Author Is Brunei Darussalam’s Contributor
