What is terrorist financing? The terrorist financing involves the provision of funds to individuals and groups to commit terrorist acts. Terrorism financing resembles money laundering because it often requires criminals to conceal the transfer of funds within the legitimate financial system.
Terrorists may use high-profile people in the country to support them in their terrorist activities and for private gain. Terrorists may use public officials, who may abuse the authority of their public office for personal gain, which interferes with democracy and the rule of law. Corruption also may be committed by private individuals who abuse their positions for personal gain, which can hinder fair market operations and distort competition.
There is a song called “Money makes the world go round,” which is true for terrorists and terror organizations. Money is the lifeblood of terrorism. Terrorist organizations require significant funding, both for the actual undertaking of terrorist acts but also for other issues. In particular, to maintain the organization’s functioning, it should provide for its basic technical necessities and cover costs related to spreading its ideologies.
What is Terrorist Financing?
Terrorist financing can be described simply as financing terrorist acts, terrorists, and terrorist organizations. But terrorist financing is more than just providing money to them. Terrorist financing can also involve facilitating terrorist acts using other assets or stores of value, such as oil and natural resources, property, legal documents, financial instruments, and others. But terrorist financing does not stop there. Terrorists also make more and more use of modern technologies, including the blockchain and cryptocurrencies. They use channels to help fund attacks more easily than they could ever do with fiat currencies.
Terrorist financing is the provision or collection of funds intending to be used to carry out acts that support terrorists or terrorist organizations or to commit acts of terrorism. Terrorist financing includes the financing or aiding, abetting, and facilitating of terrorist acts and of terrorists and terrorist organizations. It is a collection of funds by any means, directly or indirectly, intending to be used, in full or in part, to carry out terrorist activities.
The motivation behind terrorist financing is generally ideological as opposed to profit-seeking, which is generally the motivation for most crimes associated with ML. Terrorism may be financed through illegal activity or legitimately derived and owned funds. The purpose of terrorist financing is not to hide illegal money but to suppress a population or state through violence and coercion and raise funds to finance criminal acts.
Criminals may use the financial system or channels to perform terrorist financing activities. Therefore, organizations must ensure that such activities are prohibited through a robust system of controls. Understanding the sources and methods of money laundering and terrorist financing in a jurisdiction is essential for competent authorities to develop and implement an effective anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing or AML/CTF program. A national money laundering/terrorist financing or ML/TF risk assessment should be considered the foundation for setting AML/CTF policy priorities and resource allocation.
Financing terrorism, on the other hand, refers to an illegal action in the future; the purpose of terrorism financing is not to collect, profit, or accumulate in the future. Its purpose is to finance terrorist acts, whether legal or illegal, for their terrorist activities; that is, the purpose is purely ideological. At this point, the motivation between the two crimes is completely different.
Final Thoughts
Terrorist financing refers to the practice of providing financial support or resources to individuals or groups that engage in terrorism, with the intention of facilitating or promoting their terrorist activities. This can include providing funds, goods or services, or other types of material support that are used to plan, prepare or carry out terrorist acts.
Terrorist financing can take many forms, including direct contributions from individuals or groups, the use of front organizations or charities to disguise the source of funds, money laundering to conceal the proceeds of criminal activity, or the exploitation of financial systems or loopholes to transfer funds across borders.
Terrorist financing is considered a serious threat to national and international security, and is illegal under the laws of many countries. Governments, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies around the world work together to combat terrorist financing through a range of measures, including monitoring financial transactions, sharing information and intelligence, and imposing financial sanctions and penalties on individuals and organizations that are suspected of supporting terrorism.
