Iraqi judiciary says arrested IS funding ring gives insight into group’s finances
Checkpoint belonging to the Islamic State.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said Wednesday in a statement that interrogations with the group, arrested recently in Baghdad, unveiled that funds are either sent directly by “wealthy persons in neighboring countries” or in the form of commodities provided for free to group agents who, in turn, sell it for “below-market rates” as a “special offer” to clients.
Remittances pass legally through the Iraqi banking system as recipients provide personal reasons for the transfer, such as buying a property or a car, according to the statement. “Complicit” cell phone operators are also sought occasionally to process the remittances, according to the council.
The funds are transferred once or twice a month, at one case standing at USD27.000, according to the statement.
The group uses the finances to fund its operations in Baghdad, as well as to pay compensations for the families of its deceased or detained members.
Islamic State proclaimed a self-styled “caliphate” across large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. Iraqi troops, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, launched an offensive in October to retake Mosul, IS’s largest stronghold. Troops recaptured the eastern part of the city in January and are close to retaking the west. Since the launch of the campaign, Islamic State sustained severe losses in personnel and finances.