Undermining ISIS financially: Banking entities banned after supporting terrorism

Shaimaa Yahya

Under various pretexts and flimsy justifications, some financial service companies have supported terrorist organizations.

Financial haven

These institutions have remained havens for terrorists and money launderers because of their ability to hide under the cover of their activities, which causes great concern on the part of the international community and has been the focus of attention of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), reflecting efforts to combat extremism and disrupt all sources of finance.

In a new step to undermine terrorism, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, July 15, in cooperation with the six countries in the TFTC, included six prominent entities and companies from Syria, Turkey, and Afghanistan on the list of entities funding ISIS, accusing them of being involved in facilitating financial support for the terrorist organization, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Following an investigation and under the system for combating the financing of terrorism crimes and the operational mechanisms of Security Council resolutions, it issued a decision to freeze all assets belonging to the designated entities and names. Any direct or indirect transactions with or in favor of those names are prohibited by financial institutions and non-financial businesses from facilitating financial support or playing a vital role in transferring funds to support ISIS leaders in Syria. The list included Al-Haram Exchange Company, Tawasul Company, Al-Khaldi Exchange Company, Abdul Rahman Ali Hussain Al-Ahmad Al-Rawi, and the Najat Social Welfare Organization and its director, Saeed Habib Ahmed Khan.

Most prominent backers

According to SPA, Abdul Rahman Ali Hussein Al-Ahmad Al-Rawi is considered a prominent name in providing financial facilities for ISIS since 2017. As for Saeed Habib Ahmed Khan, director of the Najat Social Welfare Organization based in Afghanistan, ISIS has used this organization as an interface to facilitate the transfer of funds and support terrorist activities in Khorasan. The organization has used all means.

Since the establishment of the TFTC in 2017, its objective has been extremist organizations such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the Taliban. The center has provided classification of more than 60 individuals and terrorist entities around the world, and the new classifications add to this in the attempt to disrupt the financing of ISIS, which tries to hide under the cover of the services of major financial companies and charities.

Financial institutions in Syria

Syria has been suffering from the conflicts taking place on its soil, in addition to the deteriorating economic conditions and the absence of protection mechanisms. Exchange companies in Syria, including Al-Haram, Al-Fouad, Al-Qadmous and Pico were a factor in the deterioration of the regional economy and the manipulation of the Syrian pound, as well as other companies involved in supporting terrorist organizations.

According to the UAE-based Future Center for Advanced Researches and Studies, the role of financial institutions and local exchange firms is capable of destabilizing internal stability in Syria and countries in the Middle East, damaging the structure of the economy, getting involved in financing terrorist organizations, financing branches of radical political currents, supporting armed militias, or anchoring the economies of internal conflicts, or as an arena for confrontation between competing political forces.

As for continuing efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering, there is follow-up with relevant international organizations. The Central Bank of Iraq announced in December 2015 that 142 exchange companies had transferred funds to ISIS, and it follows up with the US Treasury and sends periodic intelligence reports on the organization’s financial transactions.