This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Part of a series on |
Terrorism |
---|
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors. [1]
Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering laws. Some countries and multinational organisations have created a list of organisations that they regard as terrorist organisations, though there is no consistency as to which organisations are designated as being terrorist by each country. The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) has made recommendations to members relating to CTF. It has created a Blacklist and Greylist of countries that have not taken adequate CTF action.[ citation needed ] As of 24 October 2019, the FATF blacklist (Call for action nations) only listed two countries for terrorism financing: North Korea and Iran; while the FATF greylist (Other monitored jurisdictions) had 12 countries: Pakistan (see Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism), Bahamas, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Iceland, Mongolia, Panama, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. [2] [3] [4] In general, the supply of funds to designated terrorist organisations is outlawed, though the enforcement varies.
Initially, the focus of CTF efforts was on non-profit organizations, unregistered money services businesses (MSBs) (including so-called underground banking or ‘Hawalas’) and the criminalisation of the act itself.
The United States Patriot Act, passed after the September 11 attacks in 2001, gives the US government anti-money laundering powers to monitor financial institutions. The Patriot Act has generated a great deal of controversy in the United States since its enactment. The United States has also collaborated with the United Nations and other countries to create the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. [5] [6]
Many initiatives have stemmed from the USA PATRIOT Act such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which focuses specifically on money laundering and financial crimes. [7]
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 is a counter-terrorism measure intended to deny financing to terrorist organisations and individuals.
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, also known as the USA PATRIOT Act, was also enacted in 2001. In 2009 the act aided in blocking around $20 million and another $280 million that came from State Sponsors of Terrorism. [8]
In 2020, Veit Buetterlin, who conducted investigations on-site in more than 20 countries and who was kidnapped in the course of his work, explained in an interview with CNN that the fight against terrorism financing will be an ongoing challenge (“it’s actually impossible to defeat a concept”). He noted that the world’s top 10 terrorist organizations have an estimated annual budget of USD 3.6 billion. [9]
A number of countries and multinational organisations maintain lists of organisations that they designate as terrorist organisations, though there is no consistency as to which organisations are so designated. In the United States, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains such a list. Financial transactions that benefit the designated terrorist organisations are usually outlawed.
Designated terrorist organisations may adopt a variety of strategies to get past efforts to prevent such funding. For example, they may make multiple smaller-value transfers in an attempt to bypass scrutiny; or they may use people who have no criminal backgrounds to complete financial transactions to try to make fund transfers harder to track. These transactions may also be disguised as donations to charities [10] or as gifts to family members. Countries are not able to combat terrorism on their own, as corporate actors are needed to scan financial transactions themselves. If corporate actors do not comply with the state then penalties or regulatory sanctions may be applied. [8]
Terrorists and terrorist organizations often use any resource of money they can have access to in order to fund themselves. This can range from the distribution of narcotics, black market oil, having businesses such as car dealerships, taxi companies, etc. ISIS is known to use black market oil distribution as a means of funding their terrorist activity. [11]
The internet is a growing modern form of terrorist finance as it is able to protect the anonymity that it can provide to the donor and recipient. Terrorist organizations use propaganda in order to rally up financial support from those who follow them. They are also able to find funds through criminal activity on the internet such as stealing online banking information from people who are not correlated to these terrorist organizations. [10] Terrorist organizations also use the front of being a charity to finance themselves. Al- Qaeda is a known terrorist organization that has used the internet in order to finance their organization, as through this platform they are able to reach a wider audience. [12]
Often linked in legislation and regulation, terrorism financing and money laundering are conceptual opposites. Money laundering is the process where cash raised from criminal activities is made to look legitimate for re-integration into the financial system, whereas terrorism financing cares little about the source of the funds, but it is what the funds are to be used for that defines its scope.
An in-depth study of the symbiotic relationship between organised crime and terrorist organizations detected within the United States and other countries referred to as crime-terror nexus points has been published in the forensic literature. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] The Perri, Lichtenwald and MacKenzie article emphasizes the importance of multi-agency working groups and the tools that can be used to identify, infiltrate, and dismantle organizations operating along the crime-terror nexus points.
Bulk cash smuggling and placement through cash-intensive businesses is one typology. They are now also moving money through the new online payment systems. They also use trade-linked schemes to launder money. Nonetheless, the older systems have not given way. Terrorists also continue to move money through MSBs/Hawalas, and through international ATM transactions. [19] Charities also continue to be used in countries where controls are not so stringent.
Said and Cherif Kouachi, before the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, France in 2015, used transaction laundering to fund their activities. [20] [21] [22] Examples included reselling counterfeit goods and drugs.
"This chain of funding shows a clear correlation between transaction laundering and terrorism, using legitimate marketplaces to conduct illegal activity (in this case, selling counterfeit shoes) and then using the proceeds to launder money for terrorists."
AML and CTF both carry the notion of Know Your Customer (KYC), this entails financial organizations to have in-person identification and to observe the lawfulness of the transaction in question. Although this methodology is not favoured by banks, lawyers or other professionals who are able to see the transaction of money or legal aid occurring, because of the business and client relationship that can be hurt through the process of personal identification. This can damage relationships between long-term clients who need to prove their identity, and respected members of society do not want to be asked for personal identification every time. [8] [23]
The FATF Blacklist (the Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories list) mechanism was used to coerce countries to bring about change.
Operation Green Quest, a US multi-agency task force established in October 2001 with the official purpose of countering terrorism financing considers the following patterns of activity as indicators of the collection and movement of funds that could be associated with terrorism financing:
It would be difficult to determine by such activity alone whether the particular act was related to terrorism or to organized crime. For this reason, these activities must be examined in context with other factors in order to determine a terrorism financing connection. Simple transactions can be found to be suspect and money laundering derived from terrorism will typically involve instances in which simple operations had been performed (retail foreign exchange operations, international transfer of funds) revealing links with other countries including FATF blacklisted countries. Some of the customers may have police records, particularly for trafficking in narcotics and weapons and may be linked with foreign terrorist groups. The funds may have moved through a state sponsor of terrorism or a country where there is a terrorism problem. A link with a Politically exposed person (PEP) may ultimately link up to a terrorism financing transaction. A charity may be a link in the transaction. Accounts (especially students) that only receive periodic deposits withdrawn via ATM over two months and are dormant at other periods could indicate that they are becoming active to prepare for an attack.
As at 24 October 2019, Pakistan was on the FATF greylist for terrorism financing and has met only 5 of 27 action items, and it has been given four months to comply with the remaining action points for the prevention of terror financing. [3] [4] As of 2022 Pakistan is compliant on most of the action plan but continues to be on the list. [24] [25]
Bahrain has been regularly accused of doing very little to prevent the flow of funds for terrorism financing in other nations.
Qatar's interactions with militants include financing Hamas.
Saudi Arabia faces accusations of not doing enough to stop terrorism financing by private actors. [26]
A recent report by FATF highlighted serious deficiencies in Saudi Arabia's efforts to counter-terrorism. Terrorism financing budding in Saudi Arabia became an important source of funding for al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. [27] [28]
In a leaked classified memo, Hillary Clinton said that in 2009 the kingdom was a crucial source of funds to Sunni terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba pointing to its intelligence incompetence. [29]
In 2019, the European Commission added Saudi Arabia, along with several other countries, to its blacklist list of states that have failed to control money laundering and terrorism financing. Saudi Arabia has been accused of not making enough effort to control the huge amounts of money being transferred to Islamist extremists and terrorist groups. [30]
The United Arab Emirates had been accused[ by whom? ] of being a financial hub for terrorist organisations. [26] The UAE banking system was found to be involved in the attacks on 11 September 2001 against the United States carried out by al-Qaeda. The 9/11 terrorists had bank accounts in the UAE. Executing the attack cost the terrorist group around $400,000–500,000, out of which $300,000 was transacted via one of the hijackers’ bank accounts in the US. The movement of funds took place with the help of both public banking systems and the Al-Qaeda established Hawala networks. [31] [32]
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, in response to concerns that the UAE banking system had been used by 9/11 hijackers to launder funds, the UAE adopted legislation giving the Central Bank in 2002 the power to freeze suspect accounts for 7 days without prior legal authorisation. The report stated, "banks have been advised to carefully monitor transactions passing through the UAE from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and are now subject to more stringent transaction and client reporting requirements." [33] The UAE government has since affirmed its stance and policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism financing. [34]
The US Treasury Department alleged a business network spread across the UAE, the Horn of Africa and Cyprus of laundering millions of dollars to al-Shabaab. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanction 16 firms and individuals involved in the money laundering network. A key financial facilitator of al-Shabaab is Dubai-based Haleel Commodities L.L.C., along with its subsidiaries and branches in Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Cyprus. [35]
Australian anti-terrorism financing laws include:
These offences sanction persons and entities under Australian and international law. [37] The responsibility of prosecuting these offences in Australia rests with the Australian Federal Police, State police forces and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
In July 2010, Germany outlawed the Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation (IHH), saying it has used donations to support projects in Gaza that are related to Hamas, which is considered by the European Union to be a terrorist organization, [38] [39] while presenting their activities to donors as humanitarian help. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said, "Donations to so-called social welfare groups belonging to Hamas, such as the millions given by IHH, actually support the terror organization Hamas as a whole." [38] [39]
According to research conducted by the Abba Eban Institute as part of an initiative called Janus Initiative, Hezbollah is financed through non-profit organizations such as the “Orphans Project Lebanon”, a German-based charity for Lebanese orphans. It found that it had been donating portions of its contributions to a foundation which finances the families of Hezbollah members who commit suicide bombings. [40] The European Foundation for Democracy published that the “Orphans Project Lebanon” organization directly channels financial donations from Germany to the Lebanese Al-Shahid Association, which is part of the Hezbollah network and promotes suicide bombings in Lebanon, particularly among children. In Germany, financial donations to the Orphans Project Lebanon are tax-deductible and thus subsidized by the German State's tax policy. [41]
In 2018, an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) called “Operation Cedar” led to the arrest of Hezbollah operatives involved in laundering millions of euros in South American drug money to Europe and Lebanon. One of the operatives arrested was Hassan Tarabolsi, a German citizen who manages a worldwide money laundering business. Tarabolsi represents the close connection between the criminal operation and the leaders of Hezbollah. [42] [43]
India has been a victim of terrorism and has campaigned for linking of the IMF's macroprudential regulation and lending policies with key provisions of FATF's anti-money laundering (AML) and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) to significantly enhance its IMF member nation's compliance on these issues which cause a threat to the global economy. India also seeks to link these IMF policies with secrecy jurisdictions, cyber risks and tax havens. [44]
In February 2019, the Spanish Treasury, through the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences (SEPBLAC [45] ), published their strategy for preventing the financing of terrorism. [46] [47]
In the UK, the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, put in place in 1989, helped to prevent the financing of terrorism. This was more so to help shut down the funding of the Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. Income sources for the Irish Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries came from gambling machines, cab companies and charitable donations in Northern Ireland, which provided the overwhelming bulk of revenue in the Troubles (1969–1998). [48] [49]
The Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998 criminalises many actions deemed detrimental to the security of the Republic of Ireland. An organisation can be made subject to a suppression order under the act, after which being a member of or directing or fundraising the activities of such an unlawful organisation becomes an offence. During the Troubles (1969–1998), the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) were proscribed under these measures.
However during the conflict, the Republic of Ireland was a primary source of funds, arms (mostly IEDs of Irish origin), training camps, bomb factories, and safe houses for the Irish Republican cause more than any other group or nation on earth in the conflict. [48] [50] [51] Overseas donations, including $12 million in cash from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi [52] [53] [54] and $3.6 million raised by NORAID in America for the Republican cause (but not necessarily directly to the IRA coffers), [55] [56] [57] [58] were often overexaggerated and actually really small. [49] [48] [50] [51] Most or nearly all of the revenue for the IRA came from legitimate and criminal activities within Ireland such as protection rackets, bank robberies, black taxies, fraud, and money laundering, all of which contributed to the longevity of the conflict as it enabled the group to buy enough guns and explosives. [48] [50] [51] [49]
European Union has undertaken several actions against money laundering and terror funding. This includes the production of the following reports and implementation of their corresponding recommendations: Supranational Risk Assessment Report (SNRA), a Report on publicly known anti-money laundering cases involving EU banks, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) report, and interconnection of central bank account registries. [59]
Article 2.1 of the 1999 Terrorist Financing Convention defines the crime of terrorist financing as the offense committed by "any person" who "by any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and willfully, provides or collects funds with the intention that they should be used or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in full or in part, in order to carry out" an act "intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act." [60]
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 after the 9/11 attacks. This outlined that states were not allowed to provide financing to terrorist organizations, allow safe havens to them and that information regarding terrorist groups had to be shared with other governments.
A committee was formed in the United Nations that were in charge of gathering a list of organizations and people who had ties with terrorism or were suspected of terrorism whose financial accounts needed to be frozen and that no financial institutes would be able to do trade with them. [8]
In January 2019, the military wing of Hamas, known as the al-Qassam Brigades, began a campaign to get supporters to donate USD. Soon after announcing its intention to crowdfund through Bitcoin, the al-Qassam Brigades provided a Bitcoin address to which donors could send funds and posted infographics and tutorials about Bitcoin on social media. [61]
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, underground sex work, terrorism, corruption, embezzlement, and gambling, and converting the funds into a seemingly legitimate source, usually through a front organization.
In financial regulation, a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) is a report made by a financial institution about suspicious or potentially suspicious activity as required under laws designed to counter money laundering, financing of terrorism and other financial crimes. The criteria to decide when a report must be made varies from country to country, but generally, it is any financial transaction that either a) does not make sense to the financial institution; b) is unusual for that particular client; or c) appears to be done only for the purpose of hiding or obfuscating another, separate transaction. The report is filed with that country's Financial Intelligence Unit, which is typically a specialist agency designed to collect and analyse transactions and then report these to relevant law enforcement teams.
The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) ('FATF, aka "Fatiff"), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to maintain certain interest. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is an Australian government financial intelligence agency responsible for monitoring financial transactions to identify money laundering, organised crime, tax evasion, welfare fraud and terrorism financing. AUSTRAC was established in 1989 under the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988. It implements in Australia the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which Australia joined in 1990.
The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2001 as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It has ten titles, each containing numerous sections. Title III: International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 is actually an act of Congress in its own right as well as being a title of the USA PATRIOT Act, and is intended to facilitate the prevention, detection and prosecution of international money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The title's sections primarily amend portions of the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to a set of policies and practices to ensure that financial institutions and other regulated entities prevent, detect, and report financial crime and especially money laundering activities. Anti-Money Laundering is often paired with the action against terrorism financing, or Combating the Financing of Terrorism, using the acronym AML-CFT. In addition arrangements intended to ensure that banks and other relevant firms duly report suspicious transactions, the AML policy framework includes financial intelligence units and relevant law enforcement operations.
In domestic and international commercial law, a beneficial owner is a natural person or persons who ultimately owns or controls an interest in a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, a trust, or a foundation. Legal owners, commonly described as the "registered owners", may hold those interests as beneficial owners or for the benefit of someone else, in which case they may be described as a "nominee".
The Financial Action Task Force blacklist, is a blacklist maintained by the Financial Action Task Force.
A financial intelligence unit (FIU) is a national body or government agency or international organization which collect information on suspicious or unusual financial activity from the financial industry and other entities or professions required to report suspicious transactions, suspected of being money laundering or terrorism financing.
Anti-money laundering (AML) software is software used in the finance and legal industries to help companies comply with the legal requirements for financial institutions and other regulated entities to prevent or report money laundering activities. AML software can facilitate faster and more accurate compliance and investigations.
Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud ; theft; scams or confidence tricks; tax evasion; bribery; sedition; embezzlement; identity theft; money laundering; and forgery and counterfeiting, including the production of counterfeit money and consumer goods.
In financial regulation, a politically exposed person (PEP) is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. A PEP generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence they may hold. The terms "politically exposed person" and senior foreign political figure are often used interchangeably, particularly in international forums.
The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) is a FATF style regional inter-governmental (international) body, the members of which are committed to effectively implementing the international standards against money laundering, the combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. APG was founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand, and currently consists of 42 member jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region and a number of observer jurisdictions and international/regional observer organisations.
The crime rate in the United Arab Emirates is relatively low compared to more highly industrialized nations. Incidents of petty crime such as pickpocketing are low. The United States Department of State states: "Crime generally is not a problem for travelers in the UAE. However, the U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens to take normal precautions against theft, such as not leaving a wallet, purse, or credit card unattended. Although vehicle break-ins in the UAE are rare, U.S. citizens are encouraged to ensure that unattended vehicles are locked and that valuables are not left out in plain sight".
The Financial Monitoring Unit is the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Pakistan established under the provisions of Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010. It is an independent intelligence service department of the Government of Pakistan and primarily responsible for analyzing transactions, money laundering cases, building efforts against the terrorist financing, and all sorts of financial crimes within the jurisdiction of financial laws of Pakistan.
The Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, also known as the Warsaw Convention or CETS 198, is a Council of Europe convention which aims to facilitate international co-operation and mutual assistance in investigating crime and tracking down, seizing and confiscating the proceeds thereof.
Qatar has been accused of allowing terror financiers to operate within its borders, which has been one of the justifications for the Qatar diplomatic crisis that started in 2017 and ended in 2021. In 2014, David S. Cohen, then United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, accused Qatari authorities of allowing financiers who were on international blacklists to live freely in the country: "There are U.S.- and UN-designated terrorist financiers in Qatar that have not been acted against under Qatari law." Accusations come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, and journalists.
The Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU) is a Qatari government regulatory agency responsible for financial intelligence efforts to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. Like other national Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) around the world, it requires banks, investment companies, insurers and other financial institutions to report suspicious financial transactions. QFIU then analyzes the information and disseminates the relevant data to law enforcement authorities for further investigation and action.
The Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center or INTRAC or PPATK is a government agency of Indonesia responsible for financial intelligence. The agency was formed in 2002 to prevent and eradicate suspected illicit financial flows as money laundering and provide information on terrorist financing.
Terrorism in the United Arab Emirates describes the terrorist attacks in the United Arab Emirates, as well as steps taken by the Emirati government to counter the threat of terrorism. Although terrorist attacks are rare, the UAE has been listed as a place used by investors to raise funds to support militants in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the financing of the September 11 attacks. Businesses based in the UAE have been implicated in the funding of the Taliban and the Haqqani network. In the 72nd session of the UN General assembly in New York, UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed the United Arab Emirates policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism financing.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite news}}
: |first1=
has generic name (help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)Estimated to have sent at total of $3.6 million to Ireland from 1970 to 1991, NORAID's contributions represented a small, but not [politically] insignificant, part of the IRA's income, which is estimated to have amounted to approximately $10 million a year.
From its founding in 1969 until 1991, NORAID raised approximately $3.6 million for Irish republican causes, through a combination of testimonial fundraising dinners and an extensive campaign to solicit donations through direct mail, dinner-dance benefits, and "passing the hat" in Irish American-owned businesses (such as bars) in major US cities.' This money was ostensibly to provide support for any number of causes related to Ireland and Irish republicanism, ranging from political activities to support to the families of imprisoned PIRA members