UN Adopts Resolution Targeting ISIS Finances

And ahead of Thursday’s meeting with of all 15 finance ministers of Security Council member states-the first of its kind-Sapin warned that countries that fail to turn off the tap on jihadists’ funding could potentially face sanctions.

ISIS still relies on access to the worldwide financial system, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who chaired the meeting, said.

The resolution “expresses concern about the lack of implementation” of previous resolutions targeting al Qaeda and Islamic State, including an “insufficient level of reporting” by states on measures they have taken to implement United Nations sanctions.

“The good news is that it’s diminishing as a combination of the kind of financial action we’re taking, and frankly military action against the oil fields are having their effect, and that’s something we should welcome”, Osborne said.

Russian Federation has also accused Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and his family of benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq.

Drafted by the United States and Syrian ally Russian Federation, the measure will update an Al-Qaeda blacklist by renaming it the “ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda sanctions list” to signal the UN’s focus on the IS extremists. The United Nations proposed sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargos.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the extremist group’s oil revenues are estimated to represent 40-45 per cent of IS’ income.

“We already have a lot of these tools… we’re going to be bringing together a lot of strands, but what we most need now is states to do what they’re supposed to do”, said a USA official, speaking on condition of anonymity. As long as IS controls territory, completely extinguishing the group’s funding sources is impossible. In February, the Security Council passed a resolution banning the illicit trade in heritage objects originating from Syria.

The resolution requires all countries to monitor and control the flow of money to individuals and groups “liable to commit terrorist acts”. “It thinks, ‘If we can keep the financing in-house we can keep the caliphate operation, ‘ and that’s what is most important to the group”. He said Islamic State leaders allocated $30 million a month to buy weapons and ammunition, using shell companies in Eastern Europe.

The resolution calls for a report within 120 days on what every country is doing to tackle the financing of IS and al-Qaida.

“They just have this ability to just latch onto these new technologies and utilize them”, said Sapin.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on UN member states to step up efforts aimed at curbing financial channels of terrorist organizations.

“We should enhance, velocity up and deepen these exchanges of data, particularly from a community that the People have the power to analyse – the SWIFT system – that takes within the motion of funds throughout the planet”, Sapin stated.