Tag Archives: Bitcoin

02Set/20

US multiagency operation dismantled part of al-Qaeda’s cryptocurrency network. What we learned so far and what to expect – by Daniele M. Barone

On August 13, the US Department of Justice announced that the US government, through a multiagency effort, seized about $2 million in Bitcoin from accounts connected to Al Qaeda, Daesh, and the al-Qassam Brigades (i.e. Hamas’s paramilitary arm) and disrupted their terrorism financing cryptocurrency networks. Continue reading

18Mag/20

Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem Call for Bitcoin to “Equip a Fighter” in Gaza – by Daniele M. Barone

On May 7, for the third consecutive year, a renewed bitcoin crowdfunding campaign surfaced on al-Raya foundation’s Telegram channel, the media outlet of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem, a pro-al Qaeda jihadist organization operating in the Gaza Strip.[i] Continue reading

19Mar/20

The Jihadi Ever-Evolving Online Financing Ecosystem – by Daniele M. Barone

At the end of February, a summit of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[i], pressed countries to align themselves with global cryptocurrency standards from the intergovernmental organization, FATF (Financial Action Task Force), on standards on virtual assets and related providers[ii]. Continue reading

14Apr/19

Anarcho-capitalism and Ethno-nationalism in the Era of Decentralized Finance – by Daniele Maria Barone

As explained by the Christchurch shooter in his manifesto, the rejection of paying taxes is defined as “a sign of racial loyalty”. From this perspective, circumventing the tax system is depicted as a way to sustain the ethno-nationalist cause: a fight for a nation which is defined in terms of assumed blood ties and ethnicity.[i] Continue reading

06Feb/19

Hamas crowdfunding bitcoin: legitimizing cryptocurrencies from a jihadist perspective – by Daniele Maria Barone

On January 29, 2019, Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the armed wing of the Hamas, announced that the group is now accepting donations in bitcoin[i]. An attempt to get around international restrictions on funding the organization, by circumventing the banking system and international anti-money laundering (AML) measures. Continue reading

22Ott/18

Europol – Internet Organized Cyber Crime Threat Assessment 2018: new trends in the obscure sides of FinTech – by Daniele Maria Barone

The latest report of Europol on Internet Organized Cyber Crime (IOCTA 2018)[i] stresses, among other issues, the weak points that modern financial tools and a lack of either an up-to-date legal framework or cooperation among institutions and the private sector, brings to the cybercrime field. Continue reading

16Ago/18

Cyber Jihad and Terrorism Financing: New Methods – Old Rules – by Daniele Maria Barone

On July this year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report addressed to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors, summarizing the latest development in anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorism financing (TF) and drawing a short term work program in these fields[i]. Continue reading

02Lug/18

Crime-Terror nexus and Potential Jihadist’s Uses of Cryptocurrencies – by Daniele Maria Barone

This May, the analysis commissioned by the European Parliament TERR Committee[i] about terrorism financing by virtual currencies, “Virtual currencies and terrorist financing: assessing the risks and evaluating responses[ii]”, has depicted the complex nature of the actors generally involved in extremist groups’ online financing. Continue reading