Global Terrorist Financing Report
Terrorist financing news from June 2024
June was a big month for terrorist financing news. Lots of new sanctions and actions against Hamas and the Houthis were announced, and we also saw some coverage of less frequently mentioned entities like the Nordic Resistance Movement, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, and the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Have a read and get caught up on what’s happening.
North America
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that Hamas skimmed over $1 billion from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to fund weapons and tunnel construction. According to the complaint, UNRWA asked JPMorgan Chase to wire millions of dollars to the New York branch of Arab Bank every month over a period of several years. The Arab Bank, headquartered in Jordan, then transmitted the money to its Ramallah branch in the West Bank. From there, funds earmarked for Gaza operations were transferred to the Bank of Palestine in Ramallah, withdrawn as US dollars, loaded onto trucks, and driven into Gaza.
Canada imposed new sanctions targeting nine individuals and two entities, including a money exchange and remittance business that was involved in Hamas' financial network. These individuals and entities have directly or indirectly facilitated, supported, and provided funding essential to planning and executing the October 7th attacks on Israel.
Canada also ordered the deportation of Majeda Sarassra, a Palestinian woman formerly employed by a relief group in Mississauga. The immigration tribunal deemed her inadmissible to Canada on security grounds due to her work for the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN-Canada). The Immigration Appeal Division ruled that her employment made her a "member" of IRFAN-Canada, which had “engaged in terrorism.” Canadian authorities stripped IRFAN-Canada of its charity status in 2011 after federal auditors found it had sent $14.6 million to groups “associated with Hamas.”
In the US, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned ten individuals, entities, and vessels involved in the illicit transport of oil and commodities for the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal. This includes maritime shipping and financial facilitators, vessel managers and owners, and a company forging shipping documents. Since October 2023, this is the seventh round of sanctions against Sa’id al-Jamal’s network. Sanctions also target UAE-based Shark International Shipping and India-based Rayyan Shipping, which manage and operate sanctioned vessels. Additionally, OFAC designated Sa’id al-Jamal’s nephew, ‘Abdallah al-Jamal, for managing money laundering operations, and Hong Kong-based Lainey Shipping Limited and Panama-based Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises S.A. for transporting sanctioned cargo for Hizballah.
Separately, OFAC designated two individuals and five entities facilitating weapons procurement for the Houthis. Ali Abd-al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir and his PRC-based company Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Company Limited were involved in shipping materials to Yemen for weapon manufacturing. Oman-based International Smart Digital Interface Limited Liability Company (ISDI) and its operator Muaadh Ahmed Mohammed al-Haifi facilitated the transfer of missile components and equipment to Yemen. Houthi forces have also sourced components from PRC-based companies Ningbo Beilun Saige Machine Co., Ltd. and Dongguan Yuze Machining Tools Company Limited. The Cameroon-flagged OTARIA, managed by UAE-based Stellar Wave Marine L.L.C and captained by Vyacheslav Salyga, carried commodities for Sa’id al-Jamal in late May 2024 to Singapore.
Since 2016, the outdoor apparel brand Patagonia, has sent over $139,000 to the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) through its tax-exempt foundation to support climate-focused projects. However, AFGJ also provides services such as donation processing, payroll, human resources, and health insurance for projects such as the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, an Israeli-designated terrorist coalition that has shared staffers with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This connection led donors and payment processors like PayPal to sever ties with AFGJ amid congressional scrutiny. Patagonia is now conducting an internal review into this funding.
In Texas, Hayden Espinosa was charged with selling firearms and components through a telegram channel that promoted racially and ethnically motivated extremism while serving time in a Louisiana federal prison for previous gun charges.
The US designated the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) and three of its leaders. NRM, the largest neo-Nazi group in Sweden, also operates in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland. Known for its openly racist, anti-immigrant, antisemitic, and anti-LGBTQI+ platform, NRM members have conducted violent attacks on political opponents, protestors, journalists, and others. They have also stockpiled weapons and organized training in hand-to-hand combat and knife fighting. ChainAnalysis reports that since 2015, NRM has received approximately $92,000 in cryptocurrency donations, relying on this method due to sanctions preventing them from opening traditional bank accounts.
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South America
A Florida jury has found banana company Chiquita liable for financing Colombian paramilitaries. In 2007, Chiquita confessed in a US court to funding the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, from 1997 to 2004. The company claimed it was extorted into making the payments. However, the recent jury determined Chiquita's liability for supporting the AUC and awarded $38.3 million in damages to the surviving family members of eight victims.
Middle East
A Turkish court arrested Esengül Arslan, a 23-year-old nursing student in Istanbul, for receiving funds from her relatives abroad, which authorities labelled as terrorist financing. Arslan was among 90 people detained for alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement. The Turkish government considers activities such as having an account at a Gülen-affiliated bank, working at related institutions, or subscribing to certain newspapers and magazines as indicators of membership in the movement, leading to the arrest of tens of thousands on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. The Gulen movement, or its associated wing FETÖ, is not widely considered to be a terrorist organization.
In an effort to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list (which proved to be successful by the end of June 2024), Turkish authorities have intensified efforts against terrorist financiers, freezing thousands of assets and millions of dollars. Among the 1,332 individuals and organizations targeted, 655 were linked to the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ), 275 to the PKK, 259 to Daesh and al-Qaida, 11 to the Nusra Front, and 132 to other terrorist organizations. Authorities froze 1,086 immovable assets, 135 vehicles, two yachts, 162 companies, and over six million dollars.
Israeli intelligence announced that it foiled a mass casualty terror plot in Israel directed by Hamas in Türkiye. The plot was uncovered after the arrest of Anas Shurman, a Palestinian from Tulkarm in the West Bank who currently resides in Jordan. Shurman was arrested in Nablus last March. During his interrogation, he revealed that he had received funds and instructions (no further details reported), including the location of an explosive device in the West Bank. Investigators found the 12 kg device hidden near a spring in the northern West Bank, along with instructions for its operation.
Turkish counterterrorism and intelligence units arrested 11 suspects in an Istanbul-based operation targeting the financial network of ISIL in Syria and Iraq. Authorities discovered that ISIL used cryptocurrency and a financial network in Turkey, with money transfers leading to currency exchange offices, import/export companies, and international shipping firms in Istanbul. The arrests occurred across seven Istanbul districts and included employees of currency exchange offices and foreign trade companies. Among those arrested were A.R.A., a Turkish citizen of Syrian origin, his brother, his associate, other citizens, foreign nationals, and M.N.A. and M.A.H., who run foreign trade and shipping companies. Investigatory searches yielded digital evidence, weapons, cryptocurrency cold wallets, and cash in various currencies. The investigation revealed that these companies used the hawala system to transfer money to ISIL camps in Syria. The operation led to the freezing of assets and activities of several companies and individuals.
India
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India seized approximately $137,000 linked to a relative of a member of the Communist Part of India (Maoist). The money, considered proceeds of terrorism, was extorted from contractors and used to finance the medical studies of a relative of the accused. The investigation revealed that the money was transferred to the bank account of a senior Maoist leader's relative through accounts of the accused's close relatives, disguised as a loan.
Europe
Adeel Ulhaq, previously jailed for aiding a UK teenager in joining ISIS in Syria, is back in prison for creating fake social media and email accounts to search for weapons online. He joined a WhatsApp group called “Pakistan Arms and Ammunition” and inquired about purchasing a gun. Ulhaq was originally sentenced to five years in February 2016 for encouraging 17-year-old Aseel Muthana to join ISIS and was given an additional 12 months for funding terrorism. After his release, he quickly resumed illicit activities, using false identities to seek weapons.
A British bank, Standard Chartered, allegedly conducted billions of dollars in transactions for terrorist group funders, according to US court papers. The bank avoided prosecution by the US Department of Justice in 2012 after the UK government intervened. New documents in a New York court claim the bank processed over $100 billion in transactions from 2008 to 2013, breaching sanctions against Iran. An independent expert identified $9.6 billion in foreign exchange transactions with individuals and companies designated by the US government as funding terror groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.
A Palestinian man in his 30s was indicted in Paris for his alleged membership in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of Fatah. He is suspected of sending money to the brigades and being involved in early 2023 attacks in the West Bank.
A suspected Islamic State supporter, a 23-year-old with German-Moroccan-Polish nationality, was apprehended at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Investigators allege he transferred $1,675 via a cryptocurrency exchange in September 2023 to the Islamic State Khorasan Province. Soufian T. was arrested while attempting to travel to Mecca with his mother and sister. During the arrest, officers found $2,750 and two cell phones, but Soufian refused to disclose the PIN. He had also booked a one-way flight to Istanbul for the same day. He had unsuccessfully applied to work as a steward for events outside the football stadiums during the European football championship in Germany.
The French government has frozen the assets of Humani’Terre. Footage from February showed Humani’Terre aid being used inside Hamas tunnels. The NGO, designated by the US and Israel over 20 years ago for acting on behalf of Hamas, is recognized by the US OFAC as an alias of the Committee of Charity and Solidarity with Palestine (CBSP). CBSP was designated a terrorist organization by Israel in 1997 and by the US in 2003. In 2022, Humani’Terre received around $33,000 in public funding. The presence of a scooter with Humani’Terre’s logo in a Hamas tunnel suggests that aid meant for the poor in Gaza was being used to facilitate movement in tunnels used as command centers, weapon warehouses, and areas for holding Israeli hostages.
Africa
A post by the Institute for Security Studies highlights that timber logging is central to Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin’s (JNIM) rapid expansion into southern Mali, the government’s last major stronghold. JNIM controls forest reserves in the country and beginning in 2022, charges illegal loggers access fees – approximately US$8 monthly or on a “needs basis” per cart. Loggers allegedly prefer this to dealing with government forestry agents, who previously restricted access and delayed logging permits.
Longer Reads
Financial Action Task Force: Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring - June 2024
On June 28, the FATF released its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. Notably, Jamaica and Türkiye were removed from the list. Monaco and Venezuela were added.
Weaponisation of the FATF Standards: A Guide for Global Civil Society
A new report from the Royal United Services Institute highlights attributes of AML/CTF measures that result in their abuse and detrimental effects on civil society.
How the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s mines
The Financial Times published a visual investigation covering how the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s mines and made hundreds of deals for gold, gemstone, and mineral industry development and expansion.
A new working paper by Sarajuddin Isar, former chief of staff to the Central Bank of Afghanistan, highlights that checkpoint taxation has been central to Afghan state formation, conflict, and the Taliban's rise to power.
Turkey’s operation hit ISIS finance network, but organization sustained
The article discusses the ISIS finance network following action from Turkish authorities. Specifically, it examines the Al-Rawi network, Wandering Finance network, and Al-Fay network.
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