Putin Orders Crackdown On Terrorist Funds, Escalates Airstrikes In Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin set up a commission to block terrorism financing Wednesday, according to state-owned media, as Kremlin steps up its fight against Islamic State militants. The decree ordered the prosecutor general's office, the central bank and regional authorities to submit any information they may have on suspicious activities to the commission. The commission hopes to discover and freeze accounts of individuals involved in extremist activities or terrorism.

The decree is the latest in a slew of counter measures from Russia, which also announced an increase in anti-terrorism cooperation with France at the G-20 summit over the weekend.

On Tuesday Kremlin acknowledged for the first time that a bomb downed the Russian Metrojet passenger plane in Egypt last month -- a crash that killed 224 people on board-- and offered a reward of $50 million for information about those responsible for it.

Russian planes also bombed the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria on Tuesday, according to reports. “Airstrikes in Syria should not only be continued but should be intensified so that the criminals realize that retribution is inevitable,” Putin said.

Meanwhile, security concerns superseded economic ones at the G-20 summit after Friday's deadly attacks in Paris that killed 129 people, as world leaders reportedly agreed to step up border controls and crack down on terrorist financing.