Organized Crime Shares Funding, Members With International Terrorism - UN Team Coordinator

Organized Crime Shares Funding, Members With International Terrorism - UN Team Coordinator

International terrorism in some ways overlaps with organized crime, mainly when it comes to financial and human flows, the coordinator of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIL, Al-Qaida (both banned in Russia) and Taliban, Edmund Fitton-Brown, told Sputnik in an interview

GENOA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2019) International terrorism in some ways overlaps with organized crime, mainly when it comes to financial and human flows, the coordinator of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIL, Al-Qaida (both banned in Russia) and Taliban, Edmund Fitton-Brown, told Sputnik in an interview.

"There's no doubt that that connection exists," Fitton-Brown said, asked whether there is any proven link between terrorism and organized crime.

First, terrorist groups benefit by being able to recruit criminals as terrorists, something they call the redemption narrative. This is especially true for Islamic State (ISIL, IS).

"I've heard it expressed in one ISIL propaganda where they said 'sometimes the best endings have the worst beginnings', and what they're saying effectively is if you were a petty criminal, you know a thief or a drug dealer, whatever it is, but if you embrace ISIL, then everything can be forgiven, you can redeem yourself, you can have a respectable life and a respectable martyrdom," Fitton-Brown said.

"Secondly, some ISIL terrorist finance movements have been through established money launderers who were money launderers dealing with non-terrorist funds but were perfectly happy in these cases to deal with terrorist funds as well. And the same applies to weapons," he added.

In some cases, gangs, particularly those who are successful in making a profit, avoid contacts with terrorists in order not to attract the attention of police and international counterterror authorities, the UN team coordinator noted.

In July, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2482, which expressed concern that terrorists can benefit from organized crime as a source of financing or logistical support and called on the member-states to consider engaging relevant local communities and non-governmental actors in developing strategies to counter terrorism and organized crime.