News
In Murky Oil Trade, Islamic State’s Illicit Proceeds May Be Impossible to Trace
By Kira Zalan and Colby Adams
printBanks will find it difficult to identify the proceeds of illicit crude oil sales linked to Islamic State, the blacklisted terrorist organization now controlling a handful of Iraqi and Syrian oil fields. The group, which has operated under multiples names since its inception in 1999, is funding itself in part from "extortion-derived proceeds from Iraqi and Syrian oil resources," according to a U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson. The organization's sale of captured crude oil to local traders purportedly tops at least $1 million per day, by some estimates. But where that money goes and who ultimately handles it remains unclear. At...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Recent military setbacks have diminished the Islamic State's control over local populations, natural resources and cultural antiquities in Iraq and Syria, raising the possibility that the group may turn to drug trafficking and other criminal schemes to generate revenue, say sources.
Islamic State's rise and ongoing crises in Syria and Iraq have increased the likelihood that terrorist groups will raise and move money through Southeast Asia and Australia, six nations said Wednesday.
U.S. legislators on Tuesday voiced support for measures intended to restrict terrorist groups from profiting from the sales of cultural artifacts stolen from Syria.
Among the many challenges of identifying terrorist funds is the fact that they can be hidden in plain sight, according to Colin P. Clarke, an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation who studies the subject.
U.S. financial institutions have identified funds potentially linked to last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, according to a top counterterrorism investigator with the FBI.
U.S. officials on Tuesday levied asset freezes and travel bans against 30 individuals and entities for joining the Islamic State or otherwise aiding the group's military operations and territorial expansion.
In the financial compliance world, debt repayment doesn't usually attract much in the way of negative attention. But in the context of other red flags, sudden debt reimbursement can signal that a client is following a little-known stricture for Islamic soldiers who may soon die in battle.
The House Financial Services Committee approved the formation of a taskforce Wednesday to recommend how to better cut off funding networks used by terrorist organizations.
U.S. efforts to disrupt Islamic State funding will focus on blacklisting its leadership, penalizing entities that help the group reap illegal profits and identifying co-opted bankers in Iraq and Syria.
Federal regulators and law enforcement agencies are using Bank Secrecy Act data to identify financial transactions tied to Islamic State, the Sunni terrorist group operating in Syria and Iraq.