ABSTRACT
Western approaches to counterterrorism clearly attest to the symbiosis between terrorism and money. As a result, counterterrorist financing (CTF) has emerged as a distinct discipline and a specific area of interest. Recent years have seen developments in terrorist financing methodologies, reflecting wider changes in the nature of the threat and in the structure of terrorist organisations. This is evident in the shift from hierarchical configurations to more autonomous and diffuse entities. Attacking finance has therefore evolved to address these developments, and in particular, the challenge of ‘low-cost terrorism’, with its emphasis on greater financial autonomy and recourse to more discreet sources of funding. In addition, the rise of ISIL, with its access to state assets to fund its organisational and governance mandates, poses further operational challenges and confirms the need for counterterrorist finance interventions to remain sufficiently flexible and dynamic.
