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.
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.
Representatives of over 20 nations meeting in Paris endorsed a plan to choke off international funding of Islamic State militants and prevent the organization from financing its growing cadre of foreign affiliates.
Turkey's vulnerability to illicit financiers has grown over the past year, in part due to its deepening economic relationship with Iran and turmoil along its southern border, say policy advocates.
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.
Banks 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 U.S. Treasury Department has picked replacements for two recently vacated senior-level positions involved with the drafting of economic sanctions and anti-money laundering policies, according to an official.
The U.S. government's landmark case against HSBC Holdings Plc for knowingly turning a blind eye to financial crime is seemingly fated to end much as it began: complex and messy.
Governments should ramp up their efforts to investigate and prosecute money launderers, including by providing additional powers and resources to local law enforcement, an international watchdog group said.