Financial Source of Funding for Al-Qaeda

Abstract

Although it was easy for Al-Qaeda to finance itself prior to the 9/11 attacks, the world view has changed drastically after the disaster and efforts are being taken aggressively to cut the financial roots of the terrorist organization.

Abstractii

Introduction1

Discussion1

Source of terrorist funding1

Process of removal for use2

Method of distribution2

Solution3

Significance of cutting the sources of funds3

Conclusion4

References5

Introduction

Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization founded by Osama Bin Laden in 1988. It was responsible for a number of large scale attacks, out of which the most famous ones were the 9/11 attacks. It is an Islamist organization that is focusing on the notion of “Jihad” to kill thousands and millions of innocent people including civilians. This paper focuses on the sources of funds that the organization uses to support itself.

Discussion

Source of terrorist funding

Prior to the 9/11 incident for which the terrorist organization was held responsible in 2007, it had four primary sources of funding:

Wealthy rich individuals who would donate;

Charities disguised by Al Qaeda, which had been accounting for up to 60% of its funds in the 1990's;

Criminal Actions and Activities such as credit check and tax fraud;

Valid businesses who were misusing innocent customers.

But after the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist network had to face a lot of trouble by the U.S. They started imposing taxes for cross-border transference of goods, narcotics and drugs (Menelik, 2009).

Manner of storage

According to the Monograph on Terrorist Financing (Roth, Greenburg, & Wille, 2004), the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks used the U.S. banks to store their funds. The transactions were routine and the user identity remained hidden. The group used the official financial system before the attacks, and charities also had online bank accounts which made it easy to move and store money. The donators and fund users also used banks to aid the organization's processes. This shows ...