The use of crypto-currencies in funding violent jihad

Journal of Money Laundering Control

Volumn 19, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 407-425

  Irwin, Angela S M ^a   Milad, George ^a  

^a MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Bitcoin; Crypto currency; Digital currency; Islamic state ISIS; Terrorism financing; Violent jihad

Indexed keywords

EID: 85044698246     PISSN: 13685201     EISSN: 17587808     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/JMLC-01-2016-0003     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Akbar, J. (2015), “The terrifying rise ISIS in East: terror horde recruits tens of thousands to its sick cause in south-east Asia”, Daily Mail Australia, 13 August, available at: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3193971/The-terrifying-rise-ISIS-East-Terror-horde-recruits-tens-thousands-sick-cause-south-east-Asia.html (accessed 19 October 2015).
2. Aldridge, J. and Décary-Hétu, D. (2014), “Not an ‘Ebay for drugs’: the cryptomarket ‘silk road’ as a paradigm shifting criminal innovation”, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2436643 (accessed 9 July 2015).
3. Bertrand, N. (2015), “Here’s an example of how easy it is for an ISIS fighter to reach Syria through Turkey”, Business Insider Australia, 24 June, available at: www.businessinsider.com.au/easy-it-is-for-an-isis-fighter-to-reach-syria-through-turkey-2015-6 (accessed 15 October 2015).
4. Blanchard, C.M. and Prados, A.B. (2007), “Saudi Arabia: terror financing issues”, CRS Report for Congress, available at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL32499.pdf (accessed 9 July 2015).
5. Chargualaf, J. (2008), “Terrorism and cybercrime”, available at: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA489730 (accessed 9 July 2015).
6. Chulov, M. (2014), “How an arrest in Iraq revealed Isis's $2bn jihadist network”, The Guardian, available at: www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/15/iraq-isis-arrest-jihadists-wealth-power (accessed 14 July 2016).
7. CoinCompare.com (2014), “Bitcoin exchange comparison”, available at: http://coincompare.com/ (accessed 17 December 2014).
8. Coindesk (2015), “How to sell Bitcoin”, available at: www.coindesk.com/information/sell-bitcoin/ (accessed 12 July 2016).
9. CoinMarketCap (2014), “Crypto-currency market capitalizations”, available at: https://coinmarketcap.com/ (accessed 12 December 2014).
10. Colombo, J. (2013), “Bitcoin may be following this classic bubble stages chart”, Forbes, 19 December, available at: www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2013/12/19/bitcoin-may-be-following-this-classic-bubble-stages-chart/ (accessed 9 January 2016).
11. Combatting Terrorism Center (2014), “Financing terror bit by bit”, available at:www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/financing-terror-bit-by-bit (accessed 15 October 2015).
12. Delaney, P.J. (2014), “Will Bitcoin be used to fund terrorism?”, Crypto Coin News, August, available at: www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-supporting-fighting-terrorism/ (accessed 9 January 2016)
13. Department of the Treasury Washington, DC (2015), “National terrorist financing risk assessment”, available at: www.treasury.gov/resource-center/terrorist-illicit-finance/Documents/National%20Terrorist%20Financing%20Risk%20Assessment%20%E2%80%93%2006-12-2015.pdf (accessed 9 July 2015).
14. Di Giovanni, J., Goodman, L.E. and Sharkov, D. (2014), “How does ISIS fund its reign of terror?”, News Week, 14 November, available at: www.newsweek.com/2014/11/14/how-does-isis-fund-its-reign-terror-282607.html (accessed 10 October 2015).
15. Duhaime, C. (2015), “ISIS invents a new type of terrorist financing by creating its own gold currency”, Duhaime’s Anti-Money Laundering Law in Canada, available at: www.antimoneylaunderinglaw.com/2015/01/isis-allegedly-ready-to-circulate-prototype-of-its-new-currency-pegged-to-us-dollar.html (accessed 13 July 2015).
16. Durmaz, H. (2007), “Understanding and responding to terrorism”, NATO Security through Science Series – E: Human and Societal Dynamics, Vol. 19.
17. Edwards, J. (2013), “CLAIM: Bitcoin is basically for criminals”, Business Insider Australia, 28 November, available at: www.businessinsider.com.au/claim-bitcoin-is-basically-for-criminals-2013-11 (accessed 9 January 2016).
18. Edwards, J. (2015), “American teenager pleads guilty to helping Islamic State”, Reuters, 11 June, available at: www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/11/us-usa-security-islamicstate-idUSKBN0OR1V520150611 (accessed 15 October 2015).
19. FATF-GAFI (1999), “Report on money laundering typologies 1998-1999”, available at: www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/1998%201999%20ENG.pdf (accessed 10 July 2015).
20. FBI (2012), “Bitcoin virtual currency: intelligence”, Unique Features Present Distinct Challenges for Deterring Illicit Activity, available at: http://cryptome.org/2012/05/fbi-bitcoin.pdf (accessed 22 October 2015).
21. Forbes.com (2014), “Mt. Gox CEO says all the Bitcoin is gone in bankruptcy filing”, Forbes, 28 February, available at: www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/02/28/mt-gox-ceo-says-all-the-Bitcoin-is-gone-in-bankruptcy-filing/ (accessed 17 December 2014).
22. Gonzalez, E. (2013), “The Nexus between human trafficking and terrorism/organised crime: combating human trafficking by creating a cooperative law enforcement system”, Law School Student Scholarship, available at: http://erepository.law.shu.edu/student_scholarship/227 (accessed 9 July 2015).
23. Graydon, C. (2014), “Bitcoin’s future: proof-of-state versus proof-of-work”, Crypto Coin News, 30 August, available at: www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoins-future-proof-of-stake-vs-proof-of-work/ (accessed 10 October 2015).
24. Köksal, N. (2015), “Turkey tightens security at Syria border, but still many weak points Turks and Syrians still moving through unofficial crossings”, CBC News, 2 April, available at: www.cbc.ca/news/world/turkey-tightens-security-at-syria-border-but-still-many-weak-points-1.3018299 (accessed 13 July 2015).
25. Laville, S. and Gardham, D. (2014), “Two unlikely jihadis: the ‘weed-smoking Kaffir’ and the ignorant dupe”, The Guardian, 13 August, available at: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/13/amal-el-wahabi-nawal-msaad-trial-syria-terrorism (accessed 13 July 2015).
26. Levitt, M. (2014), “Terrorist financing and the Islamic state”, Testimony Submitted to the House Committee on Financial Services on 13 November 2014, available at: www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/testimony/LevittTestimony20141113.pdf (accessed 10 July 2015).
27. Makarenko, T. (2004), “The crime–terror continuum: tracing the interplay between transnational organized crime and terrorism”, Global Crime, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 129-145.
28. Martin, J. (2014), “Lost on the silk road: online drug distribution and the ‘cryptomarket’”, Criminology & Criminal Justice, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 351-367.
29. Money Jihad (2015), “ISIS money man describes 6-figure cash smuggling”, Money Jihad, 4 May, available at: https://moneyjihad.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/isis-money-man-describes-6-figure-cash-smuggling/ (accessed 13 July 2015).
30. Moore, H. (2013), “Confused about Bitcoin? It’s the Harlem Shake of currency”, The Guardian, 3 April, available at: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/Bitcoin-currency-bubble-crash-not-rocking-financial-markets (accessed 19 December 2014).
31. Moore, J. (2015), “Islamic State reveals new gold coins in bid to break ‘enslavement’ of capitalism”, International Business Times, available at: www.ibtimes.co.uk/islamic-state-reveals-new-gold-coins-bid-break-enslavement-capitalism-1517730 (accessed 14 July 2016).
32. Nardo, M. (2006), “Building synergies between theory and practice: countering financial crime on a systemic approach”, Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 13 No. 3.
33. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the USA (2004), “Al Qaeda aims at the American Homeland”, available at: www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm (accessed 20 October 2015).
34. Nauert, H. (2015), “ISIS parks its cash in Bitcoin, experts say”, Fox News, 25 November, available at: www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/11/25/isis-parks-its-cash-in-bitcoin-experts-say.html (accessed 9 January 2016).
35. Paganini, P. (2012), “The good and the bad of the deep web”, Security Affairs, available at: http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/8719/cyber-crime/the-good-and-the-bad-of-the-deep-web.html (accessed 9 July 2015).
36. Pick, L. (2015), “Jakarta ‘toilet bomber’ demanded 100 Bitcoins, inspired by ISIS”, Finance Magnates, available at: www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/jakarta-toilet-bomber-demanded-100-bitcoins-inspired-by-isis/ (accessed 8 January 2016).
37. Prober, J. (2005), Accounting For Terror: Debunking the Paradigm of Inexpensive Terrorism, The Washington Institute, available at: www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/accounting-for-terror-debunking-the-paradigm-of-inexpensive-terrorism (accessed 10 October 2015).
38. Protalinksi, E. (2014), “Square now lets sellers accept bitcoin on their own storefronts”, The Next Web, available at: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/03/31/square-now-lets-sellers-accept-bitcoin-storefronts/?fromcat=all (accessed 13 July 2016).
39. Richet, J.L. (2013), “Laundering money online: a review of cybercriminals methods”, available at: http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1310/1310.2368.pdf (accessed 9 July 2015).
40. Roggio, B. (2015), “US adds Al Furqan foundation to list of terrorist entities”, Long War Journal, available at: www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/04/us-adds-al-furqan-foundation-to-list-of-terrorist-entities.php (accessed 9 July 2015).
41. Sameeh, T. (2015), “ISIL militants linked to France terror attacks had a Bitcoin address with 3 million dollars”, NEWSBTC, available at: www.newsbtc.com/2015/11/14/isil-militants-linked-to-france-terrorist-attacks-had-a-bitcoin-address-with-3-million-dollars/ (accessed 13 July 2016).
42. Sanders, L. (2015), “Bitcoin: Islamic State’s online currency venture”, Deutsche Welle, available at: www.dw.com/en/bitcoin-islamic-states-online-currency-venture/a-18724856 (accessed 13 July 2016).
43. Southurst, J. (2014), “Australian federal investigators look at Bitcoin’s organized crime role”, available at: www.coindesk.com/australian-federal-investigators-look-bitcoins-organized-crime-role/ (accessed 23 October 2015).
44. Spaven, E. (2013a), “Robocoin Bitcoin ATM takes more than CA$1 million in 29 days”, available at: www.coindesk.com/robocoin-bitcoin-atm-cad1m-29-days/ (accessed 5 January 2015).
45. Spaven, E. (2013b), “CoinEva allows Iranians to buy and sell Bitcoins”, available at: www.coindesk.com/coinava-allows-iranians-to-buy-and-sell-bitcoins/ (accessed 19 October 2015).
46. Surowiecki, J. (2011), “Cryptocurrency”, Technology Review, Vol. 114 No. 5, pp. 106-107.
47. Temple-Raston, D. (2014), “How much does a terrorist attack cost? A lot less than you’d think”, available at: www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/06/25/325240653/how-much-does-a-terrorist-attack-cost-a-lot-less-than-you-think (accessed 10 October 2015).
48. Tilsley, P. (2015), “Jihadist couriers? Suspects nabbed at Johannesburg airport with $6M were ISIS-bound, says cops”, Fox News, 21 September, available at: www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/21/5-suspects-stopped-at-johannesburg-airport-with-6m-cash-headed-for-isis/ (accessed 15 October 2015).
49. Wile, R. (2014), “Supporter of extremist group ISIS explains how Bitcoin could be used to fund jihad”, Business Insider Australia, 8 July, available at: www.businessinsider.com.au/isis-supporter-outlines-how-to-support-terror-group-with-bitcoin-2014-7 (accessed 28 October 2015).
50. Zetter, K. (2012), “FBI fears Bitcoin’s popularity with criminals”, Wired, 5 September, available at: www.wired.com/2012/05/fbi-fears-bitcoin/ (accessed 15 October 2015).
51. Coin ATM Radar (2015), Bitcoin ATM Industry Statistics/Charts, Coin ATM Radar, available at: http://coinatmradar.com/charts/#by-country (accessed 9 November 2015).