Staunching the flow of money to terrorist groups is a global concern, and a group of banking officials tackled the topic at a conference organized by the Union of Arab Banks in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt. The conference, which Al-Monitor attended, was held Sept. 17-19 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

An Egyptian banking official explained to Al-Monitor at the conference that well-financed terrorist attacks make it clear that current laws are not enough to win the fight.

The official, who preferred anonymity, further explained that in the West, the most dangerous defect in the policy adopted for combating money laundering and financing terrorism may be that criminals have found ways to circumvent the law. They exploit poor control mechanisms and internal auditing, and they misuse the banking system.

However, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region must start by getting people into the system in the first place. Accomplishing that goal would help authorities monitor transactions and gather information about the people behind them. Government financial and banking authorities are on the case.