FATF On E-Commerce & Online Services

For instance, the FATF also said that giving the case study of the use of e-commerce platforms for procurement of materials for terrorist attack in India, a key component of the improvised explosive device used in the attack -- aluminum powder -- was procured through the materials on e-commerce platform (EPOMs) Amazon. This material was used to enhance the impact of the blast.

In its comprehensive update on terrorist financing risks, the FATF also flagged ‘state sponsorship of terrorism’ revealing that a variety of publicly available sources of information and delegations’ inputs to this report indicate that certain terrorist organisations have been and continue to receive financial and other forms of support from several national governments.

“Delegations reported on this trend by referring to the use of state sponsorship for terror financing either as fundraising technique or as part of the financial management strategy of the certain organisations engaging in terrorist acts. Several forms of support have been reported, including direct financial support, logistical and material support, or the provision of training," the FATF.

In June, the FATF, while condemning the April 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people killed, and saying such attacks would not have been possible without financial support, had said it would come out with a ‘comprehensive analysis of terrorist financing’, compiling cases provided by its global network consisting 200 jurisdictions.

In February 2019, a suicide bombing targeted a convoy of Indian security forces in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 40 soldiers. India's authorities concluded that the attack was orchestrated by Jaish-I-Mohammed (JiM). As a result of the investigation, 19 individuals were charged under relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, including sections related to terror financing.

The FATF report also flagged that terrorists have been abusing e-commerce platforms and online marketplaces and said terrorists have used such platforms for their operational procurements such as equipment, weapons, chemicals, 3D-printing material etc. “EPOMs can also be used by terrorists to sell items to finance their projects and operations, including lower value items that were previously not in demand,” the FATF said.

“EPOMs can be used for fund-moving purposes inspired by trade-based money laundering schemes. Traded goods can indeed offer disguise to value being transferred from an accomplice to another member of the network. In such a scheme, the first actor would purchase items, send them to his accomplice through an EPOM, for the latter to sell items in another jurisdiction and use profit to finance terrorism,” it added.