At the end of January, several local Indian news organizations reported that al-Qassam brigades (AQB), the military wing of Hamas, could be behind a cryptocurrency mobile wallet[i] hack in India.[ii] Continue reading
The exploitation of cryptocurrency for terrorism purposes is an evolving threat. Continue reading
On August 13, the US Department of Justice announced that the US government, through a multiagency effort, seized about $2 million in Bitcoin from accounts connected to Al Qaeda, Daesh, and the al-Qassam Brigades (i.e. Hamas’s paramilitary arm) and disrupted their terrorism financing cryptocurrency networks. Continue reading
On May 7, for the third consecutive year, a renewed bitcoin crowdfunding campaign surfaced on al-Raya foundation’s Telegram channel, the media outlet of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem, a pro-al Qaeda jihadist organization operating in the Gaza Strip.[i] Continue reading
At the end of February, a summit of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[i], pressed countries to align themselves with global cryptocurrency standards from the intergovernmental organization, FATF (Financial Action Task Force), on standards on virtual assets and related providers[ii]. Continue reading
The world’s attention to the war in Syria is allowing jihadist groups to change their narrative, by disguising their intents behind a false image built around humanitarian aid or struggle against war criminals oppressing innocent people. Continue reading
As explained by the Christchurch shooter in his manifesto, the rejection of paying taxes is defined as “a sign of racial loyalty”. From this perspective, circumventing the tax system is depicted as a way to sustain the ethno-nationalist cause: a fight for a nation which is defined in terms of assumed blood ties and ethnicity.[i] Continue reading
On January 29, 2019, Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the armed wing of the Hamas, announced that the group is now accepting donations in bitcoin[i]. An attempt to get around international restrictions on funding the organization, by circumventing the banking system and international anti-money laundering (AML) measures. Continue reading
A few days ago, after a year of promotions and calls for donations in the name of the jihad, Twitter suspended the Malhama Tactical leader’s account. Continue reading
The latest report of Europol on Internet Organized Cyber Crime (IOCTA 2018)[i] stresses, among other issues, the weak points that modern financial tools and a lack of either an up-to-date legal framework or cooperation among institutions and the private sector, brings to the cybercrime field. Continue reading
On July this year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report addressed to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors, summarizing the latest development in anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorism financing (TF) and drawing a short term work program in these fields[i]. Continue reading
This May, the analysis commissioned by the European Parliament TERR Committee[i] about terrorism financing by virtual currencies, “Virtual currencies and terrorist financing: assessing the risks and evaluating responses[ii]”, has depicted the complex nature of the actors generally involved in extremist groups’ online financing. Continue reading