Al-Qaeda Financial Model
FINANCING TERRORISM
Introduction
Terrorist organizations need money to operate. Weapons and ammunition are expensive. Major international operations require substantial investments for personnel, training, travel and logistics. Organizations must have substantial fundraising operations, as well as mechanisms for moving funds to the organization and later to terrorist operators. These functions entail considerable risk of detection by authorities, but also pose major challenges to both the terrorists and intelligence agencies.
This working document offers an analysis of the sources of financing of the Al-Qaeda network including some of its affiliated groups. The development of Al-Qaeda’s financing has been similar to the evolution of …show more content…
It is currently highly unlikely that the local groups receive significant financial support from the core leadership. Although they may receive funding from other traditional sources, the Al-Qaeda cells, branches and affiliates are currently obliged to act independently, and to a great extent finance themselves to varying degrees also from criminal activities such as kidnappings, and, in some cases maybe also drugs trafficking. Fundraisers
Since its inception, Al-Qaeda has used a core of fundraisers tasked to solicit money from a range of donors.[10] The main group of donors is based in the Gulf area, principally Saudi Arabia, but donors also exist in other parts of the world. Some of these donors have been fully aware of the final destination of their money; others were not. Many donors make their contributions to money collectors. Other funds come from corrupt employees of charitable organisations, in particular during the holy month of Ramadan. Fundraisers often have also access to imams in the Mosques and obtain part of zakat (obligatory almsgiving) donations to support the cause of radical Islam. Fundraisers have sometimes used legitimate charitable organisations; in …show more content…
The World Bank and the IMF provide technical assistance to countries where the counter terrorist financing system is weak and where this can present a significant risk to good governance and development. Technical assistance from the World Bank and IMF is based on the introduction of new regulations based on best international practices, their application by authorities in the financial sector, the establishment of legal frameworks by financial intelligence bodies, the development of capitation programmes and awareness-raising to address the concerns of the private and public sectors as well as co-operation with other organisations under multinational programmes and the development of training material.
Conclusion:
The international community has so far failed to discover or block many of the sources of financing of Al-Qaeda. The organisation headed by Bin Laden continues to have access
Introduction
Terrorist organizations need money to operate. Weapons and ammunition are expensive. Major international operations require substantial investments for personnel, training, travel and logistics. Organizations must have substantial fundraising operations, as well as mechanisms for moving funds to the organization and later to terrorist operators. These functions entail considerable risk of detection by authorities, but also pose major challenges to both the terrorists and intelligence agencies.
This working document offers an analysis of the sources of financing of the Al-Qaeda network including some of its affiliated groups. The development of Al-Qaeda’s financing has been similar to the evolution of …show more content…
It is currently highly unlikely that the local groups receive significant financial support from the core leadership. Although they may receive funding from other traditional sources, the Al-Qaeda cells, branches and affiliates are currently obliged to act independently, and to a great extent finance themselves to varying degrees also from criminal activities such as kidnappings, and, in some cases maybe also drugs trafficking. Fundraisers
Since its inception, Al-Qaeda has used a core of fundraisers tasked to solicit money from a range of donors.[10] The main group of donors is based in the Gulf area, principally Saudi Arabia, but donors also exist in other parts of the world. Some of these donors have been fully aware of the final destination of their money; others were not. Many donors make their contributions to money collectors. Other funds come from corrupt employees of charitable organisations, in particular during the holy month of Ramadan. Fundraisers often have also access to imams in the Mosques and obtain part of zakat (obligatory almsgiving) donations to support the cause of radical Islam. Fundraisers have sometimes used legitimate charitable organisations; in …show more content…
The World Bank and the IMF provide technical assistance to countries where the counter terrorist financing system is weak and where this can present a significant risk to good governance and development. Technical assistance from the World Bank and IMF is based on the introduction of new regulations based on best international practices, their application by authorities in the financial sector, the establishment of legal frameworks by financial intelligence bodies, the development of capitation programmes and awareness-raising to address the concerns of the private and public sectors as well as co-operation with other organisations under multinational programmes and the development of training material.
Conclusion:
The international community has so far failed to discover or block many of the sources of financing of Al-Qaeda. The organisation headed by Bin Laden continues to have access