Here is a list of some of the world’s wealthiest – and most dangerous –
terrorist organizations and how they make their money. The list was
created based on interviews with security experts and counter-terror
specialists, as well as reports and analysis from international NGOs,
academic and government organizations, and think-tanks. It brings to
light estimated numbers behind the top ten wealthiest terrorist
organizations from the State Department list of Designated Foreign Terrorist organizations.
#1 Hizballah
Total annual Income – $1.1 billion
Other than the Iranian Government, there is no doubt who is the
primary beneficiary of the nuclear agreement. Within a few years,
Hizballah’s budget jumped significantly with the government expenditure
out of Tehran, and if in the past they received about $200 million per
year, today the Iranian funding of the Lebanese terror group, according
to estimates by the security establishment, is evaluated at more than
$800 million dollars annually.
But despite the large sums of money flowing from Tehran, the
extremist Shiite organization did not always enjoy such wide financial
support and there were times in the not-too-distant past in which, as a
result of urgent liquidity problems, they made do with just hundreds of
millions. Because of this, Hizballah made sure to vary its sources of
capital; from raising money and support collected by organizations
camouflaged as charities and scattered all over the world, down to real
estate dealings and “used car” dealerships run by private business
people.
The crowning glory of Hizballah’s business portfolio is its hold on
the global drug industry. The organization’s worldwide crime operation
extends from South America, through Africa, Europe, the Far East,
Australia and the Middle East. Among their various activities, there are
active Hizballah cells engaged in constant money laundering, forgery,
weapons trade, smuggling, and of course producing and trading drugs,
primarily heroin and cocaine.
Despite sweeping denial by the leaders of the religious extremist organization, officials
from the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have in the
past presented conclusive evidence linking the drug organizations active
at the Triple Frontier (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) with extremist
Muslim organizations and Hizballah in particular. Its involvement in the
drug industry of South America began in the early 1980s and has gained
significant momentum over the last decade; through use of the large
Shiite-Lebanese diaspora and close collaboration with South American
cartels and drug organizations as well as crime and terror organizations
in North Africa, a global-narcotic network has been created, netting
billions of dollars a year. Among those enjoying the spoils is
Hizballah. Today the total income generated by the organization’s
global-narcotic operations comes to hundreds of millions of dollars
yearly.
#2 – The Taliban
Total annual income: $800 million
Unfortunately, the Taliban’s success in recent years can also be
measured financially. The Taliban runs a financial mechanism similar to
that of ISIS (until recently) – the broader the territory they seize and
the greater the population under their control, the more resources and
potential revenue streams they have to convert into huge sums of money.
The Taliban’s primary source of income today, as much as hundreds of
millions of dollars each year, comes from the production and trade of
drugs (mainly growing opium and manufacturing heroin). After that (in
order of decreasing importance) the organization makes hundreds of
millions from the pirate mining of natural resources within the regions
under its control, collecting ransom for hostages and, finally, from
donations.
As mentioned, the foremost source of capital for the Jihadist
organization relies on the extensive narcotic network built and refined
over the years. This made Afghanistan into the biggest heroin production
and growing operation in the world and the reason why more areas in
Afghanistan are used for growing opium than there are areas in Latin
America for growing coca. This network is responsible for one of the
most essential arteries of the global drug industry, yielding hundreds
of millions of dollars a year. According to the '2017 World Drug Report' of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
Afghanistan is the largest producer and exporter of opium in the world
and is responsible for the production of approximately 90% of the
world’s heroin. In total, more than 400 tons of heroin are produced in
Afghanistan each year and the net value of opium exports alone
constitutes around 12% of the country’s GDP. A report presented to the UN’s Security Council
states that roughly 3 million Afghani people today are directly or
indirectly employed by the drug industry. This is mind-boggling, as the
country’s entire workforce is approximately 8 million people, according to the CIA.
As much as this sounds like a huge sum, this is only half of the
total income produced by the Taliban. An important additional piece in
their rich and varied financial system is their pirate mining of
minerals, namely copper and iron. A further significant source of income
for the organization comes from donations, mostly from wealthy Saudi
sheikhs and philanthropists. According to a study conducted by the New York Times,
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the group's heavy funders of the
group. Although the government in Riyadh officially supports the Afghani
government and the American task force in the country, Saudi
authorities in practice turn a blind eye to the increasing sums of money
flowing from the private accounts of the wealthy.
#3 – Hamas
Total annual income: $700 million
Last June marked tenth anniversary of the Hamas movement’s control
over the people of Gaza. Looking back, it seems there is no cause to
celebrate. A special report recently published by the UN allowed a
glimpse into the intolerable life in Gaza under the mismanagement of
Hamas and points to a dizzyingly escalating humanitarian crisis. According to a summary in the UN report, the Gaza Strip will be unlivable by 2020 if the current situation persists.
The security intensification that came with Hamas' seizure of rule
over Gaza brought with it immediate economic mayhem. A stream of more
than 100,000 workers that entered Israel daily, and provided livelihood
for hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza strip, has almost
entirely stopped. According to the World Bank,
the current rate of unemployment in Gaza is the highest in the world
and stands at over 40%. Among youth, the rate rises above 60%. The
average income in Gaza is $1,800 per capita, among the lowest in the
world. Electrical infrastructure and the factories that were destroyed
in fighting, as well as the gross lack of raw materials (those that are
not redirected by the heads of the organization to rebuilding tunnels),
has paralyzed industry, which currently amounts to furniture production,
cultivation of tomatoes and fishing.
But despite the catastrophic situation of Gaza, Hamas is managing to
generate numerous funding sources from the impoverished population
there, bringing in tens of millions of dollars each month. The
sophisticated and elaborate tax network redirects significant capital
flowing into Gaza as aid. This, for instance, is how Hamas collects
taxes on the money-changing companies that convert the foreign currency
to shekels, pocketing tens of millions on the way. In addition, Hamas
runs hundreds of businesses monopolizing a variety of fields from real
estate to security, banking, and even hotels and tourism.
Along with taxes, hundreds of millions of dollars flow in to the
organization’s account each year as private donations from business
owners or various societies from all over the world. The biggest current
funder of Hamas is, not surprisingly, Iran which, along with Qatar has
committed to contributing large sums of money to the tune of hundreds of
millions of dollars a year. In order to ensure that not all the money
goes to the rehabilitation of Gaza and improving its residents’ welfare,
the regime in Tehran has specifically allocated a significant sum from
its contribution to support Hamas and its military arm’s activities.
According to security sources, this allowance is 70 million dollars a
year, and is responsible for nearly half of the military wing’s
estimated budget of 150 million dollars.
#4 – Al-Qaeda
Total annual income: $300 million
Under the organization’s fundamentalist umbrella are some of the
deadliest organizations operating today. According to the US State
Department Country Reports on Terrorism
a number of the primary branches include: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (Libya, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Tunisia and Burkina
Faso), Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemn and Saudi Arabia),
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Peninsula (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh),
al-Shabaab (Somaia) and Tahrir al-Sham (Syria).
Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb is mainly active in
Central and Western Africa and exploits the region’s instability and the
penetrable borders of the countries in which its operations are based.
It currently deals in the illegal trade of drugs, weapons, automobiles
and people – and recently in the increasingly profitable branch of
illegal trade in cigarettes and tobacco. A special report by the KPMG firm
estimated that the illegal cigarette market in the countries of the
Maghreb in 2016 constituted tax losses of about 565 million dollars. The
scope of the illegal tobacco trade in North Africa currently stands at
more than a billion dollars annually, and according to the UN comes out
to about 60 billion black market cigarettes annually, of which a
significant portion flows directly to the criminal and terrorist
organizations controlling the region. Kidnapping for ransom payments
also constitute a large source of income for the group, bringing in
additional millions of dollars annually.
Like its brother in the West, Al-Qaeda of the Arab Peninsula
takes great advantage of the local instability and local support,
particularly in Yemen, to occupy territories, consolidate its hold in
the region and so produce sizable income streams. Two years ago, for
instance, the organization succeeded in taking over Mukalla, an
important central port city in Yemen. Their control of the city, held
until April 2016, generated about 2 million dollars a day for the
organization from collecting protection fees and taxes, as well as
pocketing an additional 20 million dollars from plundering local banks –
according to a special report of the UN Security Council. In addition,
Al-Qaeda of the Arab Peninsula continues to create ongoing revenue
streams from kidnapping and ransom payments, as well as donations from
charities of wealthy notables, primarily from the Gulf States
Jabhat al-Nusra, Tahrir al-Sham in its current
incarnation, is Al-Qaeda’s proxy in Syria. The extremist Sunni
organization’s income comes primarily from ransom payments and generous
donations from the wealthy Sunni Gulf states. This year the organization
wrangled a hefty sum of money for the provocative transaction in which
it released Qatari royalty in exchange for the unprecedented sum of an
estimated $130 million, according to the Financial Times.
A relatively new organization in Al-Qaeda’s portfolio, but a veteran of Africa’s bloody terror arena, is al-Shabaab,
the Somalian terror group.. Like the rest of Al-Qaeda’s destructive
affiliates, al-Shabaab also obtains its own funding. According to a UN
report, the organization raises funds mostly through taxing the
inhabitants of the territories under its control. Additional funding
comes from pirate mining and illegal coal trade as well as kidnapping
and ransom payments – all of which make tens of millions of dollars per
year for the terror organization.
#5 – ISIS
Total annual income: $200 million
As of now with the fall of the town Rawa, the organization has lost
its last urban stronghold in Iraq and those who controlled a third of
the country have been almost entirely eliminated. Getting rid of any
remnants of their control is just a matter of time and considering the
great power they held until not long ago, this is a remarkable collapse.
At its peak towards the end of 2014, the Islamic State extended over
100,000 square kilometers – larger than South Korea – and subjected 10
million people to its oppressive rule at the height of its power.
The vast lands that the organization captured during its rapid
conquests throughout 2014 and the millions of people subjugated to its
cruel rule made up the source of its wealth in its heyday. ISIS
controlled oil and gas fields, rich mineral deposits, fertile
agricultural lands, factories, weapons and of course millions of people
underpinning the organization’s finances, primarily through paying the
organization taxes and ‘protection’ fees. Three years ago, precisely at
the height of ISIS’ military and political power, its annual income
stood at around 3 billion dollars. In an unprecedented, comprehensive
study published by Forbes Israel, ranking the 10 richest terror
organizations in the world, ISIS was rated as the richest terror
organization in the world; indeed, the richest in the history of terror.
The basis for its speedy money-making (as with many similar examples
in the Middle East) came, unsurprisingly, from one major factor – oil.
But this source of quick income soon became ISIS point of weakness. The
intensification of the fighting against them and the grueling daily
battles on the ground eventually led to the loss of extensive territory,
including loss of control over fields of oil, gas, and precious mineral
deposits. The organization suffered massive air raids by the coalition
forces (attacks deliberately focused on the oil reserves) which added
further strain and ultimately brought about the dwindling of profits
from the organization’s primary source of income. Soon afterwards,
what's more, the price of oil collapsed, plunging from 110$ per barrel
at the beginning of 2014, to less than 30$ per barrel in 2016, further
slashing the organization’s profits.
Income from oil and gas, which constituted the main source of ISIS’ wealth,
was not the sole source of capital in its financial system. Taxes,
ransom, protection fees and robberies of banks and antiquities became
important components of wealth accumulation. As the only governmental
authority in villages and towns under its rule, ISIS collected taxes and
protection fees from the occupied population. But loss of control of
the population it controlled until recently naturally brought about a
drop in this source of income.
Apart from the large energy reserves that they controlled and the
coercive mechanism for collecting protection, ransom and taxes for their
own profit – ISIS also conquered vast agricultural lands, factories,
power stations, dams, and other strategic facilities – which added
greatly to their power and economic strength. In addition, the
organization held vast territory in the 5 most fertile agricultural
districts in Iraq that control about 40% of the wheat crop and various
types of grain grown in the country, which in total, according to
estimates by agricultural experts, amounted to 30% of the local
agricultural market under ISIS’ control. All of this was lost when the
organization withdrew from the large areas that it held.
According to estimates, the deadly terror organization lost over 90%
of its income in the last three years alone, from about 2-3 billion
dollars in 2014 to only 200 million dollars in 2017. In the coming year,
ISIS will return to its original financial standing, and will be
supported again primarily by ransom payments, donations, and external
aid to finance its guerrilla activities in Syria and Iraq.
#6 – PKK – Kurdistan Workers’ Party
Total annual income: $180 million
According to the US State Department’s annual terrorism report, the
PKK has many and varied sources of capital and relies heavily on the
widespread Kurdish diaspora across Europe for funding its operations.
According to estimates, the money flowing into the organization ranges
between $50 to $100 million annually.
The primary source of PKK’s income stems, unsurprisingly and
similarly to other terror groups, from the drug trade – namely heroin
and cannabis. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
has estimated that the organization makes about $75 million annually
from heroin. In the past, British intelligence estimated that the PKK is
responsible for 40% of the heroin smuggled into the European Union,
with the US Treasury also noting its significance in the global drug industry.
Another important dimension of the PKK’s illegal business
transactions is human trafficking, as well as pirating of tobacco and
cigarettes, according to a special report by a NATO intelligence branch.
From the illegal migration from Asian and African countries and
smuggling people and illegal substances into European countries, the
organization is making millions of dollars each year.
Apart from its criminal money-making activities, the PKK also runs a
legitimate and legal network for raising funds and aid money from its
many supporters. The PKK’s European arm runs hundreds of aid
organizations for increasing propaganda and collecting donations and
solidarity tax from among the Kurdish community, particularly in
Germany. A special report published by Germany’s domestic intelligence
service (the BfV), has estimated that funds flowing into the
organization from donations come to about 30 million dollars annually,
about half of which is collected from the Kurdish community in Germany.
#7 – Kata’ib Hizballah
Total annual income: $150 million
Practically since its inception, the organization has been heavily
funded by its Iranian patron, which makes sure to devote money and
resources for the organization’s activities. More can be learned from a
lawsuit filed against European banks by American veterans and the
families of soldiers killed in Iraq. According to the statement
submitted against the banking powers, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Barclays,
Standard Chartered and the Royal Bank of Scotland channeled money from
Tehran to the terror organization in Iraq. These funds allegedly were
transferred directly from Iran to Kata’ib Hizballah in order to finance
shootings and roadside bombings in which dozens of American soldiers
were killed or wounded. The claim explicitly implicates Kata’ib
Hizballah as one of the main recipients of those funds which, according to the pleadings, came to over 100 million dollars.
An additional source of income comes from abductions and ransom
payments, which in the last year brought huge sums into the Shiite
terror organization’s account. Kata’ib Hizballah was the organization
that headed the plan and execution of the abductions of 26 members of
the Qatari royal family while they were on a falcon hunting expedition
in December 2015. The dubious release transaction saw the royal family
transfer the astronomical sum of a billion dollars to Iran and other
terror organizations (which triggered the big boycott against Qatar by
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain), and the Shiite
organization is estimated to have received an especially hefty cut of
the spoils. According to the Financial Times
which exposed the details of the transaction, suitcases loaded with
cash amounting to about 700 million dollars were transferred to Iran and
its ‘partners’ in exchange for the hostages’ release.
#8 – Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Total annual income: $100 million
Up to 2 years ago, the Islamic Jihad was facing a severe economic
crisis, as one of their senior officials expressed it “the most severe
economic crisis in the history of the organization,” which was founded
in 1979 as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood movement. The
Jihadi organization’s sources of funding had dried up and its pockets
emptied. In a political crisis with their Iranian patron, close ally and
nearly exclusive sponsor, the latter threatened to cut the oxygen flow
to the Jihadist organization - brought the Islamic Jihad to the brink of
bankruptcy and to its lowest point in its many years of activity.
At that time the coalition forces of the region’s Sunni states (led
by Saudi Arabia, Iran’s Sunni rival), began a large-scale military
operation against the Houthis in Yemen. While the heads of the Islamic
Jihad were determined to remain neutral, the Iranians demanded explicit
support for the Shiite Houthis. When expression of support was not
forthcoming, Tehran decided on a drastic cut in funding for the
organization, which went into a violent tailspin.
Eventually, the Islamic Jihad leaders gave in and surrendered to the
dictates of Tehran, including a public “declaration of loyalty”. A
delegation of senior officials headed by Ramadan Shalah, secretary
general of the organization, was dispatched to end the tensions and to
consult the Revolutionary Guard. During the meeting, Shalah thanked
Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds force (the elite unit of the
Revolutionary Guard), for the ‘exclusive’ support of the Palestinian
intifada. In what was described as a sweeping declaration of loyalty by
the Islamic Jihad to Iran and unconditional acceptance of its demands,
the organization’s secretary general criticized the ‘other Arab states’
that did not support the Palestinian uprising and declared that “Iran is
the only country that supports the intifada and the families of the
martyrs.”
Unsurprisingly, the reward soon followed. Soon after the meeting, the
heads of the organization received an offer of reconciliation in the
form of tens of millions of dollars. It is estimated that Islamic Jihad
receives support from Iran of about $70 million a year and that Iran
alone is responsible for supplying nearly 75% of the Palestinian terror
organization’s entire budget.
#9 – Lashkar-e-Taiba
Total annual income: $75 million
According to the US State Department, the Lashkar-e-Taiba
organization relies heavily on the Pakistani diaspora (with most capital
flowing in from communities based in the Gulf States and Britain), and
aid funding from business people, Kashmiri tycoons and Indian mafia.
Additionally, many millions are funneled into funds and charities that
operate under the organization’s aid arm, which they use to garner
support and sympathy from among the local population.
Lashkar-e-Taiba maintains training camps for its fighters, along with
schools, daycare centers, welfare institutions and clinics all over
Pakistan and is active in Afghanistan as well. Most of the fundraising
to the charity and welfare funds (in which, as usual, nobody knows where
the line lies between funding charity and terror) is done publicly,
through extensive publicity campaigns in the Pakistani media. In
addition, according to some estimates, the Pakistani terror organization
continues to receive generous financial support from Pakistani
officials.
#10 – The Real IRA
Total annual income: $50 million
Despite the efforts of customs authorities and security forces, the
organization’s leaders have refined their fundraising abilities and
manage to pocket tens of millions of dollars per year, mostly through a
sophisticated global network that smuggles and sells cigarettes and
tobacco. The tobacco smuggling industry in Britain has been thriving in
recent years, bringing in huge sums of money.
A special report produced by the international accounting firm KPMG
suggests that the illegal cigarette trade on the black market in
Britain is among the largest in Europe. In 2016, approximately 5.55
billion cigarettes were sold illegally – with a black-market value of
around $1.1 billion annually. In a special investigation done by the Sun,
senior government officials declared that IRA members (including the
Provisional IRA) are responsible for about 40% of the illegal tobacco
market in Britain, and with the profits generated by this industry
annually, tens of millions of dollars in royalties go directly to the
RIRA.
The crime and terror organization recently got an unexpected boost
from parliament – thanks to the same law that forbids the branding of
packets of cigarettes and rolling tobacco. According to experts, the
passing of the law significantly simplified the forgery work required of
those profiting from black market tobacco and is expected to channel
tens of millions of dollars more their way with a hefty portion expected
to go to the RIRA.
Apart from illegal trade in tobacco, the radical Irish organization
also enjoys significant royalties from its pirate network of falsified
alcohol and fuel products as well as protection fees that it collects –
especially in those areas under its influence, in which police
enforcement is low.
An additional source of capital for the Real IRA, according to the US
State Department Report on Global Terror, comes from supporters in the
large Irish community in the USA. The underground Irish organization
knows well how to exploit this wealthy target audience, and raises funds
based on the support of Irish-American activists who oppose the peace
agreement.
source: FORBES......
