Terrorist Finance Networks

Neil Bennett

Hawala Transaction Example

Subject B

Subject A

1. Subject A in Saudi Arabia wishes to transfer $2000 to Subject B in Quetta, Pakistan

Transaction

Code (TA)

3. Subject A provides the access code to Subject B

At the same time Hawaladar 1 provides the code to Hawaladar 2 in QTA who agrees to pay the $2k

Settlement of funds

(post transaction)

5. Hawaladars 1 & 2 settle the resulting imbalance of funds, if necessary, at a later date. Bank / electronic Transfer or cash courier used. Alternatively goods or services are exchanged / offered to settle the debt

Hawaladar 1

2. Subject A approaches Hawaladar 1 based in Saudi Arabia who accepts the business and provides Subject A with a Transaction code (e.g. part of a banknote serial). Hawaladar 1 updates his ledgers

Ledgers

4. Hawaladar 2 provides the $2000 to Subject B on receipt of the correct access code. Hawalada 2 updates his ledgers

Ledgers

Hawaladar 2

Communication

(could be via e-mail)

Garmser Branch Quetta Affiliated BranchNimroz Branch

Lashkar Gah Branch

Kandahar City Branch

Wesh Branch

“Expect less from trying to dry up terrorist money and more from following the money for intelligence, as a tool to hunt terrorists,

understand their networks, and disrupt their operations”

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, July 2004

System and Enterprise• Threat is a SYSTEM

– … “combination of interacting elements organised to achieve one or more stated purposes”

The system can be described by a set of functions and activities

• ENTERPRISE: many system links have transactional characteristics– exchange of funding for goods, sharing of resources and so on

• This perspective enables workflows to be visualised and disrupted

• Systems Approach is portable to other problem sets

Approach• System/Function leads to Vulnerabilities leads to Actions

► All Vulnerabilities are linked to Actions: weak points are stressed ◄ All Actions link to Vulnerabilities: designed to generate effects

RED Capability (ILoDs)

SUPPLY

FINANCE

EXPERTISE

INFORM

DIRECT

DEPLOY

Store

Transport

Manufacture

Acquire

Assemble

Raise

Move

Store

Use

Recruit

Train

Co-ordinate

Plan

Lead

Int.collect

R&D

Emplace

Initiate

RED Capability (ILoDs)

SUPPLY

FINANCE

EXPERTISE

INFORM

DIRECT

DEPLOY

Store

Transport

Manufacture

Acquire

Assemble

Raise

Move

Store

Use

Recruit

Train

Co-ordinate

Plan

Lead

Int.collect

R&D

Emplace

Initiate

Functions Vulnerabilities Actions

What does this Mean?

• Investigations and Delivery of Effect– Understand the System – “Understanding”– Identify Vulnerabilities– Highlight Intervention opportunities– Synchronise activity to deliver Interventions

• Law Enforcement• Cross-Govt and Inter-Agency• With Partners

– Evaluate ‘effect’ achieved – Impact/Benefit Analysis

Context/Understanding/Analysis

• Geo Spatial Intelligence• Human Intelligence• Financial Intelligence• Communications

Intelligence• Imagery Intelligence• Open Source

Intelligence

• Signals Intelligence• Forensics and

Biometrics• Seized Media• Chemical • Meteorological • Technical• Identity Intelligence

Operationalising Effect

IEDsPhones

Electronic MediaNotebooksDetentionBiometrics

All Source IntelligenceActivity Reporting

Statistics

EXPLOITATION

ANALYSIS

TARGETING

Military Action (where possible)

UN Designation, sanctions etc

Intelligence Collection

Info/Influence Campaign

Arrests/Detention

Intervention

Financial Disruption

Understand – Plan – Deliver - Assess

Hard v Soft• Social Media• High Performance

Analytics• Sociology• Link and Entity Extraction• Natural Language

Processing • Anthropology• Semantic Search• Node Disambiguation

• Graph Databasing• Pattern and Prediction• Visualisation• Fuzzy Link Analysis• Machine Learning• Psychology• Web Science• Predictive Modelling• Linguistic Analysis in

microblogs