PARIS: French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday he would propose reinforcing controls on the financial flows of some Islamist associations, after the beheading of a teacher by a suspected Islamist attacker.
“There is a problem of financing a number of Islamist associations on which I think we can and must do better,” he told France 3 Television.
He cited cryptocurrencies as an example were controls could be improved, saying they could be used to finance groups or fighters abroad.
“Cryptocurrencies pose a real problem of terrorism financing … we must reinforce our devices.”
An 18-year-old man of Chechen origin beheaded a history teacher, Samuel Paty, on Friday after he had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, prosecutors said. Muslims believe that any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.