Britain freezes £61m of suspected Taliban assets

Britain has frozen £61 million of financial assets suspected of belonging to Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

Britain has frozen £61 million of financial assets suspected of belonging to Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

In the latest action since the September 11th attacks, assets were frozen in the London branch of a European bank.

Chancellor Mr Gordon Brown is announcing the move in a speech to Labour's annual conference in Brighton.

Senior Treasury sources say the UK has introduced fully financial sanctions against Osama bin Laden and that the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 implemented the United Nations's convention on suppressing the financing of terrorism.

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They say the UK already has one of the most rigorous anti-terrorism regimes in the world but that measures are being drawn up to strengthen it further.

The new Terrorism Bill will adopt the principles of the Proceeds of Crime Bill so that action can be taken against "clean" money destined for terrorism purposes as well as criminal funds.

The bill will make provision for the monitoring of bank accounts containing "clean" money that might be used for financing terrorism; impose stricter obligations on banks to report their suspicions; and create powers to freeze accounts from the outset of an investigation.

Britain would also be urging co-ordinated international action against terrorist financing, including ratification of the UN convention on the suppression of such cash flows.

PA