Policy Recommendation in Combating Terrorism
Policy Project Part 1: Project outline
In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government and the international community reviewed typologies for the financing of transnational terrorism and examined ways to combat such financing. Unfortunately, evidence indicates that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups apparently affiliated with or inspired by al Qaeda have worked quite economically, using low-budget methods to operate. After reviewing two typologies, this part of the paper discusses applicable legal mechanisms for preventing and prosecuting the financing of transnational terrorist networks and considers proposals for improving the effectiveness of efforts to combat foreign-affinity terrorist financing (Reuter & Truman, 2004; Carter, 2008).
Typologies
The evolving effects of globalization and the transnational nature of terrorism have combined to create almost limitless possibilities for terrorists looking to finance operations (Sheppard, 2008). One problem with combating terrorist financing is that many forms of terrorism -- such as suicide bombings (Cesari, 2009) require minimal financial resources. Terrorists often self-finance such attacks by working and/or borrowing from their immediate families. In addition, the bulk of the money may come from legitimate or quasi-legitimate sources. Anti-money-laundering laws have a negligible chance of detecting terrorist financing activities under a regulatory framework built for different purposes (Neal, 2008). Hence, the first typology describes a legal income source, a relief organization in the Middle East. In the second typology, foreign-affinity terrorist groups perpetrate crimes in order to generate money (Weisman, 2015).
Enforcement authorities working to deny potential terrorists access to financial resources must contend with the problem of "fresh faces," especially ones without criminal records or with legitimate academic credentials. Intelligence agencies often have no information linking these "fresh faces" (Gupta, 2011). to terrorist organizations or other criminal connections. Considering the dynamic efforts surrounding terrorist groups, the number of new and unknown faces may be very large (Viles, 2011). The absence of knowledge about potential new terrorists, the extremely small amount of resources they use, and the self-generation of funds, including legitimate funds to conduct their activities, impose severe limitations on potential legal means to deny such groups or individuals financing (Negroponte, 2010; Cesari, 2009).
3. Legal Income Typology -- Relief Organization in the Middle East
According to a state department report, the Financial Crimes Center (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of Treasury identified 649 suspicious activity reports (SARs) that seven U.S. depository institutions filed during a three and-a-half-year period (Sheppard, 2008). These reports involved transactions worth $9 million involving structured cash deposits and deposits of business, payroll, and Social Security benefit checks. Within one or two days of deposits, the funds were transmitted to a company in the Middle East. Thirty-seven individuals were involved in the deposit and wire transfer activity, conducting transactions through 44 accounts on behalf of four businesses (Reuter & Truman, 2004). Two of the businesses were wire remittance companies. One was described as a relief organization at the same location as one of the wire remittance businesses. The fourth undescribed business, located in the Middle East, was the beneficiary of the wire transfer activity. The majority of the wire transfers went to two accounts in the Middle East. Other wire transfers were made to accounts at three different banks in foreign locations (Andreas, 2013; Alexander & Musch, 2012). The majority of the transactions (83%) were structured; that is, they were arranged to fall below the $10,000 threshold that triggers reporting requirements. The deposit amounts ranged from $350 to $636,790. Most deposits were between $2,000 and $8,000 (Viles, 2011; Cole, 2015).
3. Illegal Income Typology -- Cigarette Smuggling
Individuals or groups often engage in common criminal activities, using the proceeds to fund terrorist groups. In May 2002, two men were convicted in Charlotte, North Carolina, of providing, and conspiring to provide, material support to the Palestinian group Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization (Sheppard, 2008). The criminal group engineered an interstate cigarette tax evasion scheme whereby inexpensive cigarettes from North Carolina were transported to and then sold in Michigan to avoid the latter state's higher taxes. Profits from the operation were sent to Hezbollah. International law enforcement authorities have discovered that cigarette smuggling networks can produce enormous profits. Additionally, cigarette trafficking is often the precursor to other types of contraband smuggling, including weapons and narcotics smuggling (Weinberg, et al. 2015).
The investigation started when a deputy sheriff working part-time at a large tobacco wholesaler in North Carolina noticed the same individuals buying...
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