It’s comedy. But it’s also real. Ami Horowitz recently did a series of “man on the street” interviews with Portland State University students while presenting himself as a member of Hamas. The students listened politely and nodded their heads even after Horowitz told them that Hamas intends to strike soft targets in Israel such as cafes and schools. Several students wished him good luck and told him they’d be willing to donate $10 to $15…
The illegal wildlife trade could become as big as the drug trade, according to this recent Seeker Stories video:
Recently declassified materials show the extent to which an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) financier used antiquities smuggling for revenues. The scope of ISIS’s reliance on smuggling artifacts has been a point of disagreement among analysts for several years. The indications from a May raid against ISIS are that at least hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions have been involved. Roll tape from CBS News:
State Department official Wendy Sherman has confirmed that at least $50 billion will be released to Iran because of the proposed nuclear deal, and that those funds could be used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Sherman made the comments during an interview for American Forum which will air on PBS. Roll tape:
Treasury undersecretary Adam Szubin says Iran will continue sponsoring terrorism regardless of the sanctions deal with Iran. This seems to be a point upon which many executive branch officials agree. In fact, it will probably worsen. We’ve covered many reports over the years of Hezbollah and Hamas budgets suffering because of sanctions against Iran. Logically, as sanctions are lifted, we can expect the Shia-backed terrorist groups to replenish their bank accounts and fund newer, bolder attacks.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
Sanctions Czar: Iran will Continue Funding Terrorist Armies Under Nuclear Deal
BY:
Obama’s sanctions czar admitted Wednesday that Iran would continue to fund terrorist proxies like Hezbollah under the nuclear deal.
Administration officials like Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew have downplayed the possibility that Iran could use sanctions relief cash to fund terrorism, saying that much of that money would be earmarked for debt relief and domestic projects.
Adam Szubin, the undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial crimes, was more candid about the most likely use of sanctions relief money.
“Unfortunately I do expect to continue to see Iran funding Hezbollah and its other violent terrorist proxies,” Szubin told the Senate Banking Committee.
Szubin praised the U.S. sanctions regime for bringing the Iranian economy to its knees.
“Thanks to those congressional sanctions, our sanctions against Iran’s proxies carry this international weigh and designated entities become pariahs worldwide,” Szubin said.
Szubin said that “it is incumbent” on the U.S. “to do more” through sanctions to stop Iran’s financing of terrorism—although the president’s nuclear deal lifts many sanctions on Iran and allows its banned banks back into the global financial system…
Szubin has replaced David Cohen as undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. President Obama has named Cohen as the deputy director of the CIA.
Obama administration official Susan Rice says that we should expect that some assets unfrozen in the Iranian nuclear deal will fund Iran’s “bad behavior.” This behavior includes bomb attacks by Hezbollah against Israel.
This acknowledgment is an illustration that it’s okay for the federal government to allow piles of money to flow to Iran. But if you as a private citizen sent just enough money to Iran to buy a Persian rug or a can of pistachio nuts, you could be prosecuted or fined.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) purportedly whacked a fellow terrorist to collect the $1 million bounty offered on his head. The MILF denies it, but whoever said there’s honor among thieves? Not a bad idea actually. If you can get rid of a rival terror kingpin and enrich yourself in the process, it’s easy to understand why some terrorist groups would consider doing something like this. If I were one of the terrorists listed in the U.S. Rewards for Justice program, I’d be keeping one eye open for any “colleagues” who might want to capitalize on my death.
From ABS-CBN News on May 12:
The reason the U.S. has had to incorporate high-tech features into its currency wasn’t because of domestic crooks. It was to retard North Korea from its ongoing, coordinated attempts to flood the world with counterfeit notes and devalue the greenback. This information comes from testimony before Congress by Dr. David Asher. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) asked witnesses about counterfeit bills and merchandise yesterday:
Meanwhile, Pakistan has been doing the same thing to India, a phenomenon that has been ignored by Western media. It’s time for national security analysts to take note that counterfeiting is no longer a strictly criminal activity for profit, but a state-sponsored activity for political, war-making, diplomatic, and larger economic purposes.
Abu Hajjar, a high-ranking leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has explains how he distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to ISIS fighters in a recent interview with BBC Two. Abu Hajjar also addresses what he calls the Islamic State’s principal source of revenue: the taxation of businesses and commerce in the areas under ISIS’s control. He concludes that ISIS will never run out of money as long as businesses are still operating in Iraq.
Kenya has frozen the bank accounts of 86 people and suspended the licenses of 13 money transfer organizations, including Dahabshiil, for their alleged role in funding the terrorist group al-Shabaab. From NTV Kenya last week:
Critics of decisions like this often claim that regulators are cutting off “life lines” to poor Somalis by making money transfers to Somalia more difficult. But as the news report points out, there are major, conventional banks that provide wire services. It’s just that the fees are higher with the banks than with smaller money transfer firms and hawala dealers. Kudos to Kenya for attempting to rein in the funding of al-Shabaab.
Watch this video to understand some of the basics about prostitution and human trafficking in the United Arab Emirates:
Money Jihad has previously noted that there are connections between jihadist groups and human trafficking syndicates. A study by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center found that “Individuals [within the global illicit marketplace] involved in other illicit activities link to terrorists 35 percent of the time.” Although the video excerpt tends to focus on the women and their experiences, there are powerful networks operating behind them to coerce them into the sex business and skim millions of dollars off the top. Rest assured that the profits from the sex business aren’t being used to build schools and hospitals.
Money Jihad 