Portugal is vulnerable to operations that finance Islamist terrorism, according to a report from the Ministry of Justice that has come to light after six months.
'Portugal has few defences' against those who want to finance Islamic extremist activities, but the threat is not see as ‘high level’ according to a document circulated last summer by the Policy Directorate-General at the Ministry of Justice.
One conclusion in the National Assessment of Money Laundering Risk and Terrorist Financing is that the country could become the scene of new operational developments, maybe for overseas attacks, or the targeting of foreigners in Portuguese national territory."
The document also reported as ‘medium risk’ the possibility of terrorist financing and money laundering using Portugal’s banks and financial institutions.
The one area of ‘very high’ risk is the real estate sector and the activity of notaries, both of which are meant to report any suspicious activities related to property sales. There have been but a handful reported.
Real estate being used for illicit financial operations ranked higher than casinos, lawers and solicitors.
