The Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), in partnership with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) through the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), held a virtual practical webinar on 17 February 2026 on “Countering the Misuse of Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers for Terrorism Financing”. The session focused on translating international standards into operational steps relevant to the MENA region, using the practical application of the UNOCT Handbook on countering misuse of virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) for terrorism financing. The webinar also examined the practical implications of the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee’s non-binding guiding principles (the Algeria Guiding Principles) and introduced an online survey mechanism for MENAFATF members to voluntarily share experiences and practices for a forthcoming handbook addendum. Contributions came from a range of international and regional partners, including ESAAMLG, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), INTERPOL, the UN Monitoring Team supporting the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, AFRIPOL, Nigeria, India and IMCTC, as well as private sector representatives including Chainalysis and Binderr. Next steps include the voluntary member survey to support development of the planned handbook addendum.
Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) 2026-02-22
Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force holds UNOCT webinar on operational approaches to counter virtual assets misuse for terrorism financing
MENAFATF and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism held a webinar on countering virtual assets misuse for terrorism financing. It focused on applying international standards in MENA and discussed the Algeria Guiding Principles. An online survey was introduced for MENAFATF members to share experiences for a forthcoming handbook addendum.