Indonesia says terror financing “kingpin” is native Australian

Indonesia’s financial intelligence unit has traced the source of half a million dollars for jihad in Syria:  an Australian man married to a Javanese woman.  An Indonesian official says, “That man collected money from many people in Australia” (emphasis mine).  Hopefully this intelligence is being shared with Australian intelligence and law enforcement.  From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (h/t @skinroller) on Sept. 13:

Australian man linked to cash supporting terrorism, sending fighters to Syria: Indonesia

By Indonesia correspondent Samantha Hawley

Indonesian authorities have revealed they have linked an Australian man to $500,000 they suspect has been used to support terrorism and send Indonesian nationals to Syria to fight with Islamic State.

The Australian man is married to an Indonesian woman who the ABC understands is from Java but is now living in Australia.

In an exclusive interview with the ABC, Agus Santoso, the deputy chair of Indonesia’s financial intelligence body Intrac, said they had tracked 5 billion rupiah from bank accounts in Australia that has been transferred to at least 10 accounts in Indonesia.

“That man collected money from many people in Australia. Then he sent it to his wife’s account in Indonesia,” Mr Santoso said.

“So this Indonesian woman was used to open some bank accounts which we suspect have links with terrorism suspects.

“What is surprising is that the kingpin is not an immigrant. In my opinion he is native Australian, not an immigrant. I mean, he is white.”

Intrac, also known as the Financial Transactions and Analysis Centre (PPATK), has tracked the money since 2012 and said some of the funds were still active in Indonesian accounts.

Mr Santoso said he strongly suspected the money was being used to send Indonesians to Syria, while also funding IS recruitment to strengthen the terrorist network in Indonesia.

He said $500,000 goes a long way in Indonesia.

“It only costs $250 to make a bomb,” he said…

UN adds JI’s “humanitarian” wing to Al Qaeda sanctions list

The UN, Australia, and Canada have added the Hilal Ahmar Society Indonesia (HASI) to their list of sanctioned Al Qaeda entities according to Mr. Watchlist. HASI is also known as Yayasan Hilal Ahmar or the Indonesia Hilal Ahmar Society for Syria. It “operates in Lampung, Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya and Makassar, Indonesia,” according to the sanctions announcement, which describes HASI as “recruiting, funding and facilitating travel of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria.”

The U.S. sanctioned HASI, which calls itself the “humanitarian wing” of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, in September of last year.

Indonesia nabs 6 ISIS fundraisers

Counter-terror police in Indonesia have arrested six people on charges of recruiting and funding jihadists to join the fight in Iraq and Syria. Young Muslim men the world over are answering the call of ISIS. They all need money for airfare. They’re getting that money from (usually) older men like those who were just arrested in Indonesia.  Many of the recruits are flying into Turkey.

From Sunday’s Jakarta Globe (h/t: El Grillo):

Densus 88 Arrests Six People Over Islamic State Recruitment

By Jakarta Globe on Mar 22, 2015

Jakarta. The National Police’s anti-terror squad Densus 88 on Saturday arrested six people for allegedly helping recruit and fund Indonesians to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight with the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

“We arrested six people, but it seems that only four people were actively involved [in recruiting],” said Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, deputy chief of the National Police.

The arrests were made in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta, Bekasi and South Tangerang. Badrodin said the four allegedly funded and recruited Indonesians, and prepared IS propaganda.

On Sunday Densus 88 officers raided the Bogor home of Muhammad Amin Mude, who was one of the six detained on Saturday.

“We suspect him to have been involved in facilitating and helping fund local citizens who are going to Iraq and Syria,” Densus 88 spokesperson Sr. Comr. Faisal Tayeb said on Sunday.

He added police confiscated a number of IS related documents.

Amin’s wife, Wirda Lukman, has vehemently denied the allegations…

ISIS raises cash in Indonesia for Iraqi jihad

Time reports that it’s legal to raise money for terrorism in Indonesia. Al Qaeda in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is taking advantage of this by fundraising openly around the capital. It seems that loyalties and the center of gravity is shifting internationally away from “traditional” Al Qaeda core leaders like Zawahiri toward the ascendant ISIS. From (h/t El Grillo and Terrorism Watch):

…Indonesia has a different approach to jihadism than its neighbors. Though terrorist attacks are punishable by death, it is not illegal to raise money for or join a foreign jihadist group. In contrast, in late April, Malaysia arrested 10 militants — eight men and two women — who planned to travel to Syria to take part in the war. In March, Singapore said it was investigating the departure of a national to join the Syrian jihad.

Emboldened by Indonesia’s more tolerant attitude, ISIS supporters there have become more visible and openly solicit funds. Theyheld a collection in February at an Islamic state university on the outskirts of Jakarta and held a rally in the capital’s central business district in March. On June 15, a Sunday morning when one of the main streets in the Central Javanese city of Solo is transformed into a weekly car-free zone for strolling families, militants from Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, a JI splinter cell, paraded in ISIS insignia, waved ISIS flags and wreaked havoc on a music performance.

They are also quite active on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Iqbal Kholidi, who tracks and observes Indonesian ISIS supporters on social media, has culled photos of them training and posing with the signature black flags from across the country — in Jakarta, Central Java, South Kalimantan and Poso, Central Sulawesi…

Indonesia becomes den of thieves for jihad

Eurasia Review has a very good article by V. Arianti laying out the dwindling funds available from international Muslim donors to Indonesian jihadists, and the replacement of those revenues with theft and bank robberies–a trend we’ve been following for a while.

Arianti correctly points out that terrorists in Indonesia have justified these robberies on the basis of Islamic law.  Reliance on theft is also a possible indicator of a weak financial status of the terrorist organizations involved.  Historically, terrorist groups turn to crime when they lack enough external or political support.

Thanks to El Grillo for sending this over:

Indonesian Terrorism Financing: Resorting To Robberies – Analysis

July 30, 2013

A record number of robberies have been perpetrated by terrorists in Indonesia over the past three years. This could be a sign of their inability to secure donations and international funding, the result of counter operations against terrorist and extremist groups.

By V. Arianti

SINCE 2010, there have been dozens of bank heists conducted by numerous terrorist cells, some of them linked to Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (Mujahidin of Eastern Indonesia or MIT). Led by Santoso, MIT is currently the most dangerous terrorist group in Indonesia and is responsible for a string of deadly attacks against police. Besides banks, the terrorists have also robbed gold shops, mobile phone shops, post offices, money changers, internet cafes, grocery stores, and construction material shops.

In the first half of 2013 alone, MIT’s funding arm, Mujahidin Indonesia Barat (Mujahidin of Western Indonesia or MIB) led by Abu Roban, reaped a total of Rp 1.8 billion (US$180,000) from a series of bank heists. While in the past, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and its splinter cells had conducted robberies to supplement their funding for terrorist attacks, two factors may explain the significant increase in the number of heists since 2010.

Dearth of international funding

Firstly, terrorist groups are finding it increasingly difficult to procure funding from international sources since the killing and arrests of key figures in the international fundraising network in 2009 and the growing decentralised nature of their network. Each cell is at present mostly manned by youths lacking international connections which the terrorist operatives of the past had.

The terrorism landscape in Indonesia prior to 2010 was characterised by the ability of key figures such as Hambali and Noordin Mohammed Top to attract international donors willing to fund high-profile attacks in Indonesia. Al-Qaeda allegedly funded the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2003 J.W. Marriott bombing and 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta.

The 2009 J.W. Marriot and Ritz Carlton Bombing was allegedly funded through a Saudi national, Ali Khelaiw Ali Abdullah who reportedly had a list of potential global donors. Another person with international connections for terrorism fundraising was Muhammad Jibril who allegedly flew with Ali in 2008 to Pakistan to establish contact with Al-Qaeda operatives and to Saudi Arabia to solicit funds to carry out attacks in Indonesia.

However, Jibril was in prison from August 2009 to November 2012. Abdullah Sunata, another key figure who had supplied funds from the Middle East for the insurgents in Southern Philippines, was arrested in June 2010 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Secondly, terrorists are not able to secure enough money through “legitimate” means, such as donations from sympathisers. The extremist community has set up a few charities to provide financial assistance to the families of terrorists such as Gashibu Nusantara. However, if indeed a portion of the funds did go to terrorist cells, the sum would not only be insufficient, but also might not reach all cells equally.

Religious justification for robbery

In addition, the fact that some fugitive terrorists complained online of the reluctance among the extremist community to give them substantial financial assistance for fear of being arrested is likely another factor for resorting to robberies.

Although terrorists were able to gain sufficient proceeds from criminal activities, only a small portion actually went to funding activities, including for weapons procurement or training. Indonesia’s Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Chairman Ansyaad Mbai in June 2013 noted that the terrorists used the rest of the money for personal gain. It is in line with terrorists’ arguments that it is religiously justified if they use funds for personal expenditure.

Suspects robbed banks to fund terror

Indonesian police hauling off one of the suspects

Indonesian police have carried out raids against 20 terrorists who were involved with raising money for jihad.  The men were involved with bank robberies in at least three different cities, and at least one jewel heist in Jakarta.  Four of the detainees had immediate plans for a new bank robbery in central Java.

Indonesian jihadists have previously asserted that robbing banks to finance terrorism is compliant with Islamic law.

From the Jakarta Post on May 10:

Terror suspects linked to Poso

The National Police’s counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, conducted a series of successful overnight operations against terrorists with links to the Abu Omar and Autad Rawa groups, the police say.

The 20 terror suspects — seven killed and 13 arrested — in the raids across Java are linked to the groups that collect money to support the activities of mujahidin (those engaged in jihad) in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Early investigations indicated that the men had been involved in armed robberies at Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) offices in three cities.

“They stole Rp 790 million [US$81,192] from BRI in Batang and Rp 630 million from BRI Grobogan [both in Central Java]; and Rp 460 million from BRI Lampung. They also attempted to burn down Glodok Market in West Jakarta,” said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar on Thursday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The suspects carried out various initiatives to collect money, including robbery.

“Four alleged terrorists were planning a robbery in Kebumen [Central Java], when they were arrested in an overnight raid in the regency,” said Boy.

It is alleged that one suspect, Abu Roban alias Untung, had been involved in some robbery cases — a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta; as well as the three BRI offices — before Densus 88 officers killed him in Batang.

Police linked the suspects with Santoso, who is believed to be behind a series of attacks in Poso over the past few years.

Santoso himself is a former member of a terror group led by Basri, a member of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group. Basri surrendered to police after a gunfight on Feb. 1, 2007, in Poso where a Muslim-Christian conflict killed at least 1,000 people over the course of 1998 to 2002.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Densus 88 personnel raided areas in Batang, Kebumen and Kendal in Central Java; Bandung in West Java; and Banten. During the raids, the officers shot dead seven suspects and 3 others were captured alive.

“The terror suspects killed during the raids were identified as Abu Roban, Bastari, Toni, Bayu alias Ucup, Budi alias Angga, Junet alias Encek and Sarame,” Boy announced.

The suspects captured alive in Jakarta were Agus Widharto, Agung, Endang, Faisal alias Boim and Iman.

Iwan and Puryanto were arrested in Kendal. While four others — Budi, Farel, Slamet and Wagiono — were apprehended in Kebumen.

The two suspects arrested in Bandung were Haris Fauzi alias Jablud and William Maksum, alias Acum alias Dadan.

The bodies of the three dead men were flown to Dr. Sukamto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Thursday after being examined at Bhayangkara Hospital in Semarang.

During the raid in Ciputat, Densus 88 officers confiscated Rp 25.48 million, while in the Bandung raid, the police found two revolvers, an FN Browning pistol, hundreds of bullets and Rp 6 million in cash…

Hacker who financed church bombing sentenced

“IT protégé” Cahya Fitrianta conspired to steal billions of rupiah with Rizki Gunawan to fund terrorism in Indonesia.  They were somewhat successful by their own standards:  bankrolling a bomb strike on a church in Solo, Indonesia, left two dead and fourteen parishioners injured.

Cahya has been sentenced to eight years for terrorism and money laundering activities.  From the Jakarta Globe on Feb. 6:

Computer Hacker Sentenced to 8 Years for Role in Terror Group

A computer hacker who accessed money from a website and then laundered it to fund terrorist activity in the Central Sulawesi city of Poso was convicted by the West Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

Cahya Fitrianta was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a Rp 500 million ($51,000) fine. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence.

Presiding judge Erlita S. Ginting said the defendant had violated multiple articles under the anti-terrorism and money laundering laws.

“Aside from engaging in a vicious conspiracy, the defendant was also found guilty of laundering money, which he obtained from hacking the http://www.speedline.com website and used the proceeds to fund military training in Poso,” said Erlita.

Cahya’s lawyer said he will consider whether to appeal.

“We will think about it. If the public prosecutor plans to appeal, we’re ready for it. But our camp cannot accept the accusation about violating an article on money laundering because there were no facts [to support it] or [data] regarding the source of the money,” Cahya’s attorney, Farid Ghozali, said after the trial.

The public prosecutor said it would appeal the sentence because it was lower than the jail term sought.

Cahya was arrested in May last year in a Bandung hotel. The defendant, along with another man, Rizki Gunawan, have been linked by police to a group known to fund terrorist activities.

Police in May arrested Rizki, accusing him of hacking a marketing firm’s website to steal money in order to fund militant training.

The duo stole billions of rupiah over two years by hacking websites, and used some of the money to fund the bombing of a church in Solo on Sept, 25, 2011.

Cahya was also previously accused of channeling money to terrorism suspect Umar Patek, who was sentenced this year to 20 years for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing.

Central Sulawesi has become a hot-bed of extremism in recent years, as terror groups seek to fund and prepare activities.

Hacking and stealing money for terrorism

Indonesian jihadists update financial strategy

The Jakarata Globe has published a good article (excerpt below) reviewing developments in terrorism in Indonesia over the past year, including an examination of “Santoso”—a high-profile terrorist.  It was Santoso operatives who committed a cyber-attack against a foreign currency exchange website to make nearly a million dollars:

As the Bali bombing trials illustrated, many Muslim fundamentalists believe that theft for jihad is permissible under Islamic law.  This hacking case also demonstrates another facet of ongoing economic cyber warfare against “infidel” banks and stock markets.

Theft and robbery

Despite lacking in striking capabilities, police discovered in June that terrorism groups might have turned to a more sophisticated method to gather funds. The finding was made after Densus 88 arrested Rizki Gunawan, who is suspected of having made Rp 8 billion ($830,000) as a result of online hacking.

A Densus 88 source said that Rizki’s hacking work had funded the bombing of a church in Solo, in September. The source also said that Rizki had taken part in paramilitary training in Central Sulawesi in January and February last year under the leadership of Santoso, who is still on the run.

During the bombing of several churches in 2000 and the first Bali bombing in 2002, funding came directly from international terror group Al-Qaeda. After the funding stopped, terrorism cells resorted to donations from their own members and sympathizers.

But the 2002 Law on Terrorism, and later the 2010 Money Laundering Law, makes this method almost impossible, prompting many terrorism cells to conduct theft and robbery to finance their attacks.

Saud said the new funding methods were devised by Santoso, who came up with the strategy after realizing that Rizki and his protege, Cahya, were IT experts. The pair decided to hack a foreign exchange trading website.

Cahya was arrested in March for financing the Solo church bombing as well as channeling money to terrorism suspect Umar Patek, who was sentenced this year to 20 years for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing.

Santoso seems to be this year’s Most Wanted Terrorist, with nearly all terrorism attacks — successful and foiled — having had some form of his alleged involvement…

Another global giveaway to subsidize sharia

The Asian Development Bank will promote sharia finance with a $750,000 handout to Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan—countries with Islamic bank structures that are already well-entrenched.

Keep in mind that the World Bank also has a program to promote sharia-compliant finance in concert with the Islamic Development Bank, a sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood.  From Reuters on Dec. 11:

Islamic banking expansion aided by ADB grant

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Reuters) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided a $750,000 grant to promote Islamic banking in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The money will be shared between those countries’ governments to help their banking systems to meet regulatory standards set by the Islamic Financial Services Board, the ADB said.

Islamic finance follows religious guidelines such as a ban on the payment of interest and on pure monetary speculation.

Its core markets are in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with about 57 percent of total global Islamic banking assets held by the 20 largest Islamic banks, concentrated in Malaysia, Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey.

The ADB, which promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region, said that the expansion of Islamic finance in other countries in the region will provide large numbers of people with banking services for the first time.

A report by Ernst & Young on Monday said that up to 150 new financial institutions could be established to cater for growing demand from the Muslim-majority populations of countries such as Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan.

The sharia finance sector in Bangladesh has been documented to fund terrorism.  Giving even more money to their Islamic banking system makes no sense unless the purpose is to bankroll terrorism even further.

ADB is funded by its member countries and international bond sales.  Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Nomura, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and UBS were involved with an ADB bond issuance earlier this year.

Anti-graft board reveals Koran buying scandal

It’s never been clear who’s funding the recent, massive Koran giveaways in traditional non-Muslim countries such as Germany and Hong Kong, although religious ministries or charities from Islamic countries are the likeliest sponsors.

And if recent developments from Indonesia are any indication, one should also wonder how aboveboard the contracts between the Koran printers and the distributors have been.  From Foreign Policy:

In the name of Allah, most gracious and merciful, I steal

Posted By Endy Bayuni Friday, July 6, 2012 – 1:51 PM

Before performing any deed, a good Muslim would say “In the name of Allah, most gracious and most merciful” — either to make sure that he or she is not committing an act of sin, or asking God to show mercy in case a sin is committed. But would a Muslim say that before stealing, too? The bad ones probably do.

The Muslim politicians and bureaucrats involved in the latest scandal over the procurement of a Quran, no doubt would have said bismillah (in the name of God). But while they may believe God will be merciful, don’t expect the public to be so forgiving.

In Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, you don’t go any lower than stealing in the name of God.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Zulkarnaen Djabar, a Golkar Party member of the House of Representatives, and his son as suspects in the scandal. It’s possible, though, that the case may soon expand to include more suspects.

Zulkarnaen, a member of the House’s Budget Committee and Commission VIII (which deals with religious and social affairs), played an active role in pushing the House to approve hefty increases in the budget allocated for the government’s program to procure Qurans. Zulkarnaen had a personal interest in the project: His son, Dendi Prasetya, got the lucrative contract to supply Qurans to the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Other Commission VIII members have since confessed that they each received over 500 copies of the Quran from the Ministry. None of them saw this as a kickback for securing the budget increases. Some claimed they were simply helping the Ministry to distribute Qurans (no doubt to appease voters before the 2014 elections).

Others claimed that the free, government-distributed Qurans would help promote moderation and tolerance in Islam as part of the campaign to fight radicalism. This claim has been refuted by an Islamic group that found that the government-issued Qurans carry translations that promote violence and radicalism.

At a cost of Rp 1 million ($106) each, these volumes of the Holy Book must be among the most expensive Qurans ever found in Indonesia.

Public reaction to the news has been largely muted — primarily because no one was really that surprised. It’s not the first time that God’s name has been corrupted. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has already earned a reputation as one of the most corrupt state institutions, according to a Corruption Eradication Survey conducted in 2011.

Rather than a fortress of morality, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has long since become a bastion of hypocrisy.

To many bureaucrats and politicians, God has become a commercial project, whether it’s procuring Qurans, or dispatching a huge Indonesian delegation to the haj pilgrimage in Mecca, the most lucrative of all government projects. Not surprisingly, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has jealously guarded this project in spite of repeated calls to leave it to an independent agency that would subject it to closer scrutiny to ensure better management.

Indonesia sends more than 200,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia each year, the largest contingent from any country. As far as business goes, this is a captive market over which the government holds a monopoly. The ministry rakes in huge profits from the project, and it now sits atop a $4 billion endowment.

The temptation is just too big…

There is more at this link, particularly about corruption in Indonesia’s hajj allowances.

Assets worth billions of rupiah seized in Sumatran terror finance hub

Assets worth hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars have been seized in Medan, a city in North Sumatra, Indonesia.  Authorities are calling Medan a terror fundraising center.

As the Bali bombing and the trials of the culprits have shown, Indonesian jihadists are always busy at work accumulating wealth through robbery and other schemes which they justify by using the illegal proceeds for the cause of Allah.  This particular case involved a multilevel marketing scheme.

From the Jakarta Post:

Terror groups turn Medan into fund-raising center

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Archipelago | Fri, 06/22/2012 9:57 AM

BNPT head, Insp. Gen. (ret.) Ansyad Mbai, said Medan had been chosen as a fund-raising center by terrorist groups because the city was regarded as an advanced economic hub.

Ansyad added that terrorist networks were still present in Medan so it was logical that they use it as a place to gather logistics for terror activities.

He said his agency had discovered and seized a significant number of assets from various locations in the city, such as on Jl. Pancing.

Ansyad confirmed that the value of the seized assets reached billions of rupiah, primarily in the form of houses, cars and motorcycles.

“They own assets in Medan worth billions of rupiah, all of which were derived through fraudulent online multilevel marketing [MLM] transactions,” Ansyad told The Jakarta Post in Medan on Thursday.

He said all the assets in Medan had been acquired by the terrorist groups via the Internet by hacking into MLMs. Ansyad explained that some of the terrorist suspects became MLM members and then sought out new members to get credit points.

“The hackers transferred the credit points to their accounts and then sold them to brokers who transferred the money equivalent to their bank accounts,” explained Ansyad, adding that this kind of fund-raising had been taking place for years.

When asked how the Internet hacking scheme had been uncovered, Ansyad said it began with the arrest of a number of terrorist suspects in several provinces, including five people in Bali, one in Jakarta, four in Medan, two in Bandung, two in Surakarta and one in East Java, all of whom were arrested last month.

According to Ansyad, the suspects are part of a network of several small, affiliated groups.

“The terror network in Indonesia is an affiliation of several groups, including a group with members in both Cirebon and Surakarta called Hizbah. Most of its members have been captured but some have fled and joined a similar group in Medan,” he said.

In response to whether the suspected terrorists would be launching attacks in Indonesia, Ansyad said it was unlikely in the near future. “We don’t know their plans yet, but we must remain alert,” he said.

Scores of armed police personnel raided two upscale houses on Thursday in Medan’s Johor district, which are believed to be owned by members of the terrorist groups.

Johor district head, Azwarlin Nasution, said both houses were often left empty by their tenants. According to him, his office did not know the houses’ owners, but based on accounts by some of the neighbors in the district, both houses were occupied by people from Java.