Money is about to become much more scarce for terrorists.
The United States, Saudi Arabia and Italy co-chaired the first meeting of the Counter-ISIL Finance Group in Rome March 19–20. Representatives from 26 countries and several multilateral groups participated in the gathering to coordinate efforts against Daesh financial activities.
Their aims:
- Cut off Daesh from the international financial system.
- Counter Daesh’s extortion and exploitation of economic assets like oil and cultural heritage.
- Deny Daesh funding from abroad, including funds from external donors and foreign terrorist fighters.
- Prevent Daesh from financing or supplying other groups to expand its global reach.
The members plan to increase information collection and sharing, coordinate sanctions efforts and strengthen counterterrorist financing measures, the U.S. Treasury said. The group will continue its efforts to counter terror financing with a meeting in Saudi Arabia scheduled for May.
The Treasury Department continues to work with Turkish and Kurdish partners to stop revenues from Daesh oil sales and with partners in the Gulf to stem the flow of donations to the terror organization.