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The researcher Diego González López, from the Department of Criminal Law at the Universitat de València (UV), explored the funding methods of the jihadist terrorist organizations and concludes that they use similar methods to the ones used by the population in their daily life.
The researcher, who is a member of the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation (EU Knowledge Hub) and is associated to the UV Institute of Criminology and Criminal Science (ICCP), stated on an article published on the journal E-Eguzkilore that these organisations have adapted to the new technologies to diversify their revenue streams. According to the Financial Action Task Force (GAFI), jihadist terrorism receives yearly millions of euros, and the article insists on dividing and penalising differently terrorism financing offences and other economic offences, specially money laundering, due to the nature and the objective of the first ones.
According to Diego González López, ‘Financing terrorism is intended as a challenge for criminal politics due to the use of traditional financial instruments and, in some cases, ordinary-use digital instruments, which makes its detention and prevention harder’. The article is focused on ‘violent Salafist ideology’ as a synonym for ‘jihadist Salafism’ or ‘jihadism’, which is understood as a trend combining a Salafist overview of Sunni Islam with the legitimization of violence as an instrument for political-religious action.
Among the most used methods of jihadist terrorism financing, we can find wire transfers, through multiple transactions of small quantities so as to avoid alarming financial entities. ‘Apart from financial entities, there are other ways of making an international bank transfer, such as Western Union, MoneyGram or Paypal’ points Diego González. These entities are known as remittance agencies and they enable making international transfers quickly, accessibly and safely without having a bank account. Despite complying with the same regulations as the credit entities, with them terrorist organisations are able to follow a similar pattern to the one they use with traditional financial entities.
The study, conducted by José Luis González Cussac, professor of Criminal Law at the UV, declares that terrorist organisations have found other less-traditional methods to fund their activities. Crowdfunding –a collective way of funding with individual contributions– has become a renowned method. Thus, ‘a massive amount of humanitarian, charity, non-profit campaigns was notified. Funds raised are totally or partially diverted into illegal activities. There are also legal campaigns that operate in high risk areas and are blackmailed so as to divert contributions’ warns Diego González López.
Cryptocurrency is another attractive asset for terrorism because it is decentralised, it does not require traditional intermediaries, it offers faster international transfers, it is low-cost, and it has high levels of privacy. ‘Even though no cryptocurrency is completely anonymous, some of them have higher levels of privacy than others. Some jihadist organisations hold that these digital assets enable anonymous hardly traceable funding transfer to defray combatants’, warns the UV researcher. For example, cryptocurrencies Monero and Dash make traceability harder, so they have been used by some terrorist organisations for their financing.
The article has also evaluated the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), certifications of uniqueness, authenticity, and ownership of some digital assets such as art, assets for videogames or certificates, which use decentralised technology based on blockchain (decentralised digital registration that serves as a shared ledger). ‘It is a digital asset liable to circulation on the market, which may be bought and sold, exchanged or auctioned through specialised platforms’, considers the researcher on criminal law, who mentions OpenSea, Rarible or SuperRare.
Hawala system and human couriers
Other informal funding methods that complicate regulation and traceability are the Hawala system, which consists of transferring money between a sender and a receiver through two reliable intermediaries in exchange for a commission or other agreements between the parties; or human couriers, a method which draws on low-profile people or people who enjoy the trust of the organisation –relatives, acquaintances or members of close communities- aimed to minimize the risk of detention by authorities. The article warns that sometimes transporter don’t even know what they are exactly carrying or what will it be used for.
This research, conducted by José León Alapont, professor on Criminal Law at the UV, is part of the research project ‘Ganancias ilícitas y sistema de justicia penal: una perspectiva global’ (‘Ilegal earnings and criminal law system: a global perspective’) by the Ministry of Science and Universities (PID2022-138796NAI00).
Reference of the article: González-López, D. (2026). El finançament de les organitzacions i grups terroristes d’índole gihadista: mètodes actuals i reptes des de la política criminal. E-Eguzkilore. ISSN: 2530-1969:
