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Islamic State Used Czech Banks to Buy Drones

By Gabriel Vedrenne

Four companies served by banks in the Czech Republic helped form a complex financial chain and corporate front that the globally blacklisted Islamic State group used to acquire unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones, from suppliers in East Asia. In 2019, the Czech Republic's Financial Analytical Office, or FAU, received 3,954 suspicious transaction reports, or STRs, only 93 of which flagged suspected attempts to finance terrorism. But one case in particular stood out: Czech authorities, according to the FAU, identified and dismantled a network tasked with purchasing drones for Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. "Islamic State...

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