Terrorism Financing: New Challenges for International Security

Abstract

Despite efforts by the international community to curb international terrorism, it remains one of the main threats to inter- national security. A main reason for this is that international terrorism has significant financial inflows and their routes transform faster than the international countermeasures designed to stop them. The aim of this article is to identify existing and potential financial channels. The authors analyze antiterrorist legislation to define the theoretical and legal framework for this research and draw on empirical content from the reports of international organizations, the Group of 20 (G20), the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, and others. This article shows that the main sources of terrorism financing include taxes paid by foreign enterprises functioning in the occupied lands, taxes paid by local populations, profits from resource and goods trade, captured treasures trade, pay- ments from non-governmental organizations, and financial fraud. The authors discuss the role of cryptocurrencies in international terrorism financing and note that while foreign experts deny the possibility and feasibility of their usage, Russians take an opposite view. The authors conclude that the Russian arguments should be heard and carefully considered by the international community. The Russian Federation has significant experience fighting terrorism. For this reason, the authors recommend that the G20 and other international organizations pay more attention to this issue and work out international standards to counter the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorists.