Terrorism Financing Through Charities

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It was not until the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that the US government began to crack down on the financing of terrorism. The passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001 was, in part, an attempt by the federal government to disrupt the financing of terrorism and the flow of laundering money. In addition to passing legislation that made it harder to launder money to terrorists, the USA Patriot Act attempted to crack down on non-profit organizations like charities and underground banking systems like “hawalas” (USA Patriot Act). Running a terrorist organization is not cheap, as these organizations must pay for personnel, training, operations, weapons, security, reparations to the families of slain freedom fighters and much more (Madinger, 280-2).
According to Money Laundering: A Guide for Criminal Investigators, terrorist financing originates from four sources: criminal activity, legitimate or semi legitimate business, government or state sponsorship and charitable contributions or donations (Madinger, 279). Contrary to public belief, many terrorist organizations solicit money directly from the local community. By soliciting donations and contributions, the organization is able to legitimately raise money for their operations. In addition, the role of states sponsoring terrorism through monetary contributions continues to be a growing threat. According to the US State Department, countries that are currently directly sponsoring terrorism include: Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria (US State Department). In an effort to elude detection from authorities and to continue funding their organizations, terrorists also finance themselves through legitimate businesses. The Provisional Irish Republican Army oper...

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...267 Committee, Resolution 1267." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 10 June 2014. .

"The iceberg beneath the charity." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 15 Mar. 2003. Web. 9 June 2014. .

"USA PATRIOT Act." USA Patriot Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2014. .

Warrick, Joby, and Tik Root. "Islamic charity officials gave millions to al-Qaeda, U.S. says." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 June 2014. .

"how many countries in the world." how many countries in the world. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2014. .

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