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Al-Qaeda Works Cheap, Stays Hidden

Cells dodge dragnet by avoiding traceable transactions

By Jess Kilby, Newser User

Posted Aug 24, 2008 10:18 AM CDT

(Newser) – International efforts to cut off terrorists from funding have failed because al-Qaeda cells operate cheaply and independently, avoiding official funding channels, experts say. While the US and its allies have focused on freezing bank accounts and monitoring financial transactions, operatives build $15 bombs, drum up hard-to-trace cash through illegal scams, and move money in person, reports the Washington Post.

Ongoing investigations have revealed that cell members are trained to stay “under the radar,” sticking to rackets like small-time loan fraud to fund their operations. And while the Sept. 11 attacks required an estimated $500,000, the 2005 London transit bombings only cost about $15,000. "There's a complete disconnect” between US counter-terrorism strategies “and the underlying reality of how terrorism is funded," warned one expert.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (3)]

Pakistani police examine weapons and ammunition seized this month. The police suspect the goods were secretly shifted from the northwest where al-Qaeda-linked terrorists are fighting security forces. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)

One of several new Kabul billboards asking Afghans for information about al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. (AFP PHOTO/Massoud HOSSAINI/Getty Images)

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They are very skilled at obtaining money and using criminal systems to do it. They can collect thousands of dollars or euros in a few weeks. It is beyond our control. - Jean-Louis Bruguière, adviser to the European Union on terrorism financing

That's the cleverness of these schemes—to keep it under the radar. By doing this, they can raise significant amounts of money, fairly quickly, and there's no real way to detect it. - Stephen Swain, former head of Scotland Yard's international counterterrorism unit

They need to be seen as doing something to provide reassurance to the public that they're doing something. We're living in a false paradise if you think these things will stop it. - Scotland Yard's Stephen Swain, on the finance laws meant to stop terrorism

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Al-Qaeda Works Cheap, Stays Hidden