Creating transparency in ISIL funding
Compared to other terrorist organizations ISIL, also known as the IS, ISIS and Daesh, has more than one way to finance itself. Al Qaeda, for example, was economically dependent on donations and on state-sponsored terrorism.
ISIL is rich in a variety of ways, which means that if one of the funding resources is shut down, the group can alternate the resource and still has access to money.
ISIL raises money through oil trade, extortion, cash couriers, kidnapping, trafficking of humans and racketeering. They loot and sell precious cultural property, profiting from the destruction of humanity's common heritage. ISIL has gained around one billion dollars from trafficking Afghan drugs into Europe so far.
The biggest gain was from the coup of the central bank in Mosul where they earned up to $430 million. They also robbed many other banks in Mosul.
ISIL also earned $40 million from oil-rich nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. These nations are suspected to have ties with ISIL.
Social media is also used by ISIL, not just for radicalization and recruiting, but also for fundraising.
They claim to have 10,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, and to have access to $2,000,000,000 in funding.
The resolution of the UN security council decided to "freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of these individual groups, undertaking and entities, including funds derived from property owned or controlled directly or indirectly, by them or by persons acting on their behalf or at their direction, and ensure that neither these nor other funds, financial assets or economic resources are made available, directly or indirectly for such persons' benefit, by their nationals or by persons within their territory."
Does the UN/world need more transparency in funding ISIL?
Sources:
http://bismun.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Study-Guide-CTC.pdf
http://hagamun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SC-1-Rohaan-Radhakrishnan-3JAN.pdf
Nana Martens
