"Finance intelligence is a very powerful tool in the fight against terrorism because money is the life blood of terrorists," he said on Tuesday.

Citing an example, Gunaratna said a terrorist leader was found to have sent 22 payments totaling Rp 1.8 billion (US$137,247.48) from Turkey through Western Union to Indonesia. For the Thamrin attacks in January this year, at least Rp 70 million had also been sent from Turkey to Indonesia, he went on.

Gunaratna said terrorism was a regional challenge because Indonesia and other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, were currently struggling to combat terror threats.

He praised the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), which he said had built a very close work relationship with the police.

“This has helped the police to prevent many attacks and to dismantle many terror attacks. Now, Indonesia is leading the way in building a regional framework [in the fight against terrorism]," said Gunaratna.

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He also appreciated Indonesia's initiative to work with other countries in the region to fight terrorism. "Traditionally, historically, the fight against terrorism has only been between government agencies. But for the first time, PPATK has invited industries, such as banks, financial institutions, even private sector partners and academics, to join the effort," said the expert, who is also the author of Handbook of Terrorism in Asia Pacific.

Gunaratna is one of the experts sharing their expertise on countering terrorism during the 2nd Counter Terrorism Financing Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Tuesday.

PPATK deputy chairman Agus Santoso said the meeting aimed to strengthen regional cooperation in combating terrorism.

"Fighting against terrorism cannot be done by one country alone. We have to work together with other countries in the region. Thus, Indonesia is taking the initiative to build regional risk assessment with six other countries that border Indonesia, such as Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines," he noted. (ebf)