Custom «The Players in Terrorism Financing» Essay Paper Sample

Acts of terrorism normally require financing for them to be executed. The detailing that goes into the planning of this terrorism attacks and the build up to them normally consume a lot of money that is provided by outside organisations that fund these terrorism acts. This financing comes from those who plan the attacks, those who encourage it and those who are directly linked to engage in the attacks. This financing is carried out in a complex manner and also varies from one terrorism organisation to the next (Schott, pp8).

For an organisation to commit an act of terrorism, it does not always take up huge amounts of money to execute it. The 9/11 attacks on America cost the al Qaeda around 500,000 US dollars, while the Istanbul bombings in 2003 are estimated to have taken up less than 40,000 US dollars. The funding of these terrorism attacks at times comes from the conspirators themselves. They do this by raising the money from criminal activities. These include check and credit card fraud. These terrorists go as far as collecting money through donations raised from charity locally which they use as disguise for their ill acts. In Spain, it was reported that the terrorists raised money by drug peddling, hashish and ecstasy. Despite the low costs in executing the operations of the terrorism acts, a huge sum goes into the planning behind it and support of infrastructure (Biersteker & Eckert, pp 5).

A report by the Australian Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Damian Bugg in 2003 showed that this is true. He stated that “al Qaeda spends about 10% of its income on operational costs. The other 90% goes into the cost of administering and maintaining the organisation.” (Biersteker & Eckert, pp 5). In order to raise the amount to cover these costs, the terrorism groups use a variety of methods to raising, moving and storing this money. Smuggling of drugs, cash, precious metals and even arms are some of the methods used to raise this money. These terrorism groups them rely on members of the families to store this money accumulated and avoid suspense. There is also dependence in the use of self-help money lending systems that allows them to withhold money looking like social movements rather than suspicious formal organizations (William, pp 11).