Global Terrorist Financing Report
Unmasking the Financial Networks of Extremism in March 2024
Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Global Terrorist Financing report from Insight Monitor. Today, we have stories covering a wide portion of the globe, from North America to Russia, and India, and a lot in between! If you find this report useful, please share it with a colleague, and you can always support our work by upgrading to a paid subscription. Thanks for caring about illicit financing!
~Jess
North America
NBC reported that “despite accusations by some pro-Israel groups and former US and Israeli government officials,” they found no financial connection between the pro-Palestine US non-profit organization Within Our Lifetime and Hamas. The organization has been banned by Israel and Germany. To learn more about terrorist financing through charities, and some common issues that arise in analyzing this, read our summary.
A fundraising page for white nationalist Laura Loomer’s documentary only included mention of collaboration with America First leader Nick Fuentes on the film as “some kind of a, like, a typo,” according to Loomer. The film is currently claiming Fuentes has no involvement, despite advertising his collaboration on a crowdfunding platform. Insight Monitor wrote about Fuentes in our 2021 article on IMVE propaganda financing and again in our recent analysis of Entropy.
A prominent white nationalist cartoonist who sells NFTs and merchandise and was favoured by mass shooters — even being referenced in one mass shooter’s manifesto — has been identified and is likely working at an IT company in Texas.
US and Israeli victims filed a lawsuit in the United States against the UNRWA for alleged financial support of Hamas.
Several small comedy shows for a Canadian comedy troupe involved with the white nationalist movement Diagolon have been canceled following public pressure.
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Central and South America
Two key suspects accused of plotting terrorist attacks against Brazilian Jews are affiliated with the Islamic Beneficent Cultural Center of Brasilia, according to police documents obtained by reporters. The suspects are suspected of having ties to Hezbollah and the Islamic Beneficent Cultural Center of Brasilia has been funded by Iran since 2019.
Africa
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit says they have identified $160,000 sent from affiliates of the Nigerian separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to media affiliates Bulgaria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Nigeria says that the majority of the IPOB’s finances come from crowdfunding and that they have identified 27 entities between 22 countries affiliated with the group. IPOB has been involved in deadly shootouts with the Nigerian military since 2020.
Nigeria released the names of 6 companies and 9 people sanctioned for terrorism financing. Individuals on the list are associated with Boko Haram and ISWAP Okene. A Nigerian organization called the Concerned Civil Society Network has disputed the listing of Tukur Mamu, a newspaper publisher who has been incarcerated since 2022.
Somalia’s government has seized a total of $7 million between 110 bank accounts allegedly linked to terrorist networks.
The United States has sanctioned 16 entities connected to Al-Shabaab financing. The sanctions include:
Dubai-based Haleel Commodities L.L.C., branches in Kenya and Uganda, subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Cyprus, and Somalia, and a Somalian electronics company they operate under.
A Somalian Al-Shabaab financier living in Finland.
A Kenyan bus company used to launder Al-Shabaab funds.
Several associates and financiers in Uganda, whom the Treasury say make up “a notable part of this network.”
The United States Department of the Treasury’s recent Fact Sheet on Countering ISIS Financing reports that ISIS generates approximately $6 million per year from operations in Somalia. It also estimates that ISIS in the Sahel could generate up to $6 million per year, largely in part from war spoils.
The Counter ISIS Finance Group claims criminal activities, including robberies in Jonannesburg, South Africa have financed ISIS. The report also claims that ISIS has been using South African banks and that the Islamic State’s Somalian branch “probably has been ISIS’s primary revenue generator, earning approximately US$6 million mostly from extortion and local taxes”
Europe
Four Tajikistani men suspected of conducting the recent coordinated mass shooting in Moscow’s Crocus area that killed over 137 people have been apprehended by Russian authorities. Russian media claims that one suspect said they were promised 500 thousand rubles (US $5,405) to carry out the shooting. According to Putin, 7 other people have been detained. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
An alleged Islamic State supporter who is believed to have collected around €2,000 (US $2,164) for ISIS prisoners in Northern Syria has been arrested in Germany.
The sister and niece of a British ISIS fighter have been sentenced to 3 years and 3 years, nine months, respectively, for sending him £1,800 (US $2,285) over five transactions.
The recent arrest of three suspected members of the Palestinian Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade in Italy has sparked concerns about weapons and financing networks in Europe used by Iran-allied terrorist groups.
In France, a historic trial is ongoing for five individuals accused of financing ISIS. Among them are two parents who allegedly embezzled money from a “publicly subsidized organization for distressed parents of radicalized children” to financially support their children in Syria. One parent on trial for terrorism fundraising says she doesn’t regret sending 10,000 Euros to her son and daughter in Syria, arguing her children were hostages of ISIS and that she was sending money to preserve their lives. Another is accused of embezzling 50,000 Euros from the nonprofit organization for her daughter. Two journalists and one lawyer are also standing trial for facilitating money transfers on their behalf.
A source told the Telegraph that weapons shipped to Hizballah are transferred through ports in Antwerp, Belgium, and Valencia, Spain, before going to Syria to conceal the nature of their trajectory.
Azerbaijan has arrested one man on terrorism financing charges.
International far-right groups recently met in Russia to attend two conferences supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Middle East
Houthis say that they have brokered a deal with China and Russia to allow safe passage for their ships through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. We wrote about the role of shipping in the Houthis financial network in our recent financial profile of the Houthis:
An Institute for Security Studies’ analyst tells reporters that the UAE “has been increasingly linked with RSF (Rapid Sudan Forces) in terms of funding.” The RSF is a paramilitary organization that was once part of the Sudanese military, but defected last year.
An Iraqi ISIS financier living in Syria has been killed by Syrian forces. The United States Department of the Treasury’s recent Fact Sheet on Countering ISIS Financing estimates that ISIS operations in Iraq and Syria have between $10 million and $20 million in funds.
An Iran-based Al-Ashtar Brigades financier who moved funds through Bahrain has been sanctioned by the United States.
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo says it’s possible only a “portion” of $165 million in cryptocurrency between over 200 accounts — that were analyzed from 2020 to 2023 by FinCEN for ties to Hamas — are actually tied to Hamas. We included a section on Hamas’ use of cryptocurrency in our in-depth Hamas Financing Report:
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
A man who was arrested last year for trafficking over over 3.5kg of heroin is among two men charged with terrorism financing alongside a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir.
Human Rights Watch is calling for the immediate release of Irfan Mehraj, an Indian journalist detained on questionable terrorism financing charges.
An ISIS leader in India who Indian authorities say “furthered the cause of ISIS in India” through terrorism funding has been arrested after crossing the border from Bangladesh.
An analysis of Bangladeshi terrorism financing in the Jamestown Foundation’s Terrorism Monitor says that “militants use ‘self-donations,’ remittances through the hundi system, robbery, and front businesses to finance their operations.”
Indian authorities have seizes four properties in Pune, Maharashtra alleged to be purchased to fund ISIS terrorist activities.
In other news from Pune, accused ISIS members reportedly robbed a saree shop and stole vehicles last year to fund operations, including the purchase of bomb materials.
India’s National Investigation Agency claims they found evidence that the Popular Front of India raised 9.10 crore ($1.1 million) for training camps.
Central and Southeast Asia
Analysts at the Singapore-based company Cyfirma say they identified over $80,000 worth of Bitcoin donated to two wallets associated with suspected ISIS operatives fundraising on Telegram.
Oceana
A Marshall Islands-owned tanker which disguised itself as a fictitious vessel to conceal its use was blacklisted by the US for shipping Iranian oil to China to support the Qods Force and Houthis.
Longer Reads
An op-ed in the Eurasia Review argues that it’s “imperative” the FATF takes action against India’s rampant abuse of terrorism financing laws.
The Atlantic Council published an article investigating how international sanctions impact the ways in which Hamas fundraises, uses, and moves funds.
The Financial Times published an article on Afghanistan’s role as a hub for global terrorism since the Taliban returned to power.
The Eurasia Review published an analysis of Armenia’s alleged use of sanction evasions to assist Iran.
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