Evolving Threats: Key Financing Takeaways from the UN’s Latest ISIL and Al-Qaeda Report
At the beginning of February, the UN Monitoring Team released its Thirty-Fifth report on ISIL and Al-Qaeda, outlining operational activities and trends as reported by Member States. This analysis summarizes the key threats related to terrorism financing, counter-terrorism successes, and some financing evolutions within these organizations, as detailed in the report.
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What’s Important in the Threat Landscape?
Biggest Players
The UN reports that ISWAP, ISIL-K, Al-Shabaab, and AQAP remain particularly strong. ISWAP continues to be ISIL’s most active affiliate, though counter-terrorism efforts, financial constraints, and clashes with Boko Haram have impacted its expansion. The UN considers ISIL-K to be the most significant extra-regional threat, conducting attacks as far as Europe.
The report further outlines that Al-Shabaab’s annual revenue has increased, with estimates ranging between $100 million and $200 million. Al-Shabaab now reportedly allocates about 70% of its revenue to operations and 30% to investments.
Member States indicated that AQAP—one of Al-Qaeda’s strongest branches—is diversifying its financial streams beyond ransom kidnappings, turning to commercial ventures such as real estate, car trading, weapons trafficking, and counterfeiting.
Crypto and Other Tech
The UN acknowledged that terrorist organizations increasingly leverage advanced technologies to achieve organizational and operational objectives. The growing use of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence for recruitment and propaganda—mainly to target younger individuals—raises serious concerns. Many groups are shifting toward cryptocurrency-based fundraising. ISIL-K, for example, is moving away from extortion and kidnappings, instead relying on cryptocurrency donations. The group has used repeatable QR codes and virtual addresses to transfer tens of thousands of dollars. AQAP has also exploited cryptocurrency for financing, launching a donation campaign under the pretense of supporting Palestinians while funding its own operations. The anonymity of these transactions remains one of the most significant challenges for counter-terrorism efforts.