The world's 5 richest terrorist groups

 

The world's 5 richest terrorist groups

August 29, 2011

http://moneyjihad.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/the-worlds-5-richest-terrorist-groups/

 

 

 

In terms of their annual operating budgets to the best of our knowledge at

this time, the Taliban, Hezbollah, the FARC, Hamas, and al-Shabaab may be

the wealthiest terrorist organizations in the world today.  Al Qaeda trails,

but if all its affiliated organizations are included, Al Qaeda remains in

the upper echelon of the world's terror budgets.

 

1.  Taliban

 

Taliban nets between $70 and $400 million from drug activity (of which at

least $15 to $25 million is collected as ushr, Islam's 10 percent tax on

harvests) annually.  In addition, the Taliban collects an estimated $150 to

$200 million per year in zakat and sadaqa donations, mostly from the Arab

nations of the Persian Gulf.  These figures exclude extensive Taliban

revenues from ransoms, extortion, and improperly diverted money from Western

aid, U.N. contributions, defense contractors, and the Afghanistan government

itself.  My own estimate would place that subtotal of an additional $50

million per year.

 

Splitting the difference for the estimated range of revenues, that would

bring the Taliban's total budget to an estimate of approximately $560

million annually.

 

2.  Hezbollah

 

Rachel Ehrenfeld's Funding Evil documented that Hezbollah's annual operating

budget is between $200 and $500 million.  Iran provides at least $120

million of that, with the rest coming from khums, drug trafficking, and

other criminal activity.

 

3.  FARC

 

Columbia's Marxist guerrillas, the FARC, enjoy annual revenues that range

from estimates of $80 to $350 million.

 

4.  Hamas

 

For 2010, Gaza's budget adopted by Hamas was $540 million, but that's a

larger amount than Hamas's own budget.   The Council on Foreign Relations

lists Hamas's budget as $70 million.  However, the recent news that Iran is

cutting or ending its aid to Hamas which would  substantially diminish

Hamas's treasury.  Hamas receives significant funding through charitable

front groups and from Saudi Arabia.

 

5.  Al Shabaab

 

A recent report from the U.N. revealed that al-Shabaab's revenues are

between $70 and $100 million per year, propelling it into the top tier of

global jihadist funding.

 

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS

 

Al Qaeda

 

The CIA estimated that before 9/11, al Qaeda's annual budget was $30

million, which was almost exclusively from "donations" (zakat and sadaqa).

By almost all accounts, al Qaeda's financial situation has deteriorated

since then.  Other estimates place their budget from $16 to $50 million,

which still puts al Qaeda itself toward the bottom of the list.  However,

there are indications that revenue collections of al Qaeda offshoots such as

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

(AQIM), and al-Shabaab are flush with funds.  With AQIM in particular, the

evidence shows that funds are being transferred from the regional

organization back to the parent al Qaeda organization itself.

 

Lashkar-e-Taiba

 

Reuters calls Lashkar-e-Taiba (whose revenues include hawala, the Gulf, and

Pakistan's ISI) "one of the largest and best-funded Islamic militant

organizations" in South Asia.

 

It bears repeating that much of the revenue listed above, with the exception

of the FARC's drug money, originate from traditional Islamic revenue sources

such as zakat, sadaqa, khums, and ushr, rather than from "secular," criminal

activity.

 

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