Cryptocurrencies help terrorists — the UN says

According to the United Nations (UN), terrorist groups are increasingly using cryptocurrencies to finance their criminal activities. This was stated by the UN Coordinator for Countering the Financing of Terrorism Svetlana Martynova.

As Martynova explained, thanks to the active development of modern technologies, terrorists are finding new ways to make money, one of which is digital assets. «If terrorists are excluded from the formal financial system and want to buy or invest in something anonymously, the most advanced ones are likely to abuse cryptocurrencies,» said Martynova.

However, despite the ability of terrorists to quickly adapt to the «new rules of the game,» the predominant methods of terrorist financing are fiat currency and hawala (an informal method of transferring funds, used mainly in the Middle East, Asia and Africa).

According to UN representatives, there are currently global standards from the FATF and UN Security Council resolutions that all countries are advised to follow. «Terrorists are abusing new technologies to spread disinformation, stir up divisions, recruit and radicalize, mobilize resources and carry out attacks,» said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A few days ago, we talked about how blockchain technologies are used by terrorists — according to US intelligence, the attackers developed NFTs in support of Islamic terrorism for attacking Taliban positions in Afghanistan. The non-fungible tokens have already been found on the Rarible and OpenSea marketplaces. Despite the fact that the platforms have already blocked terrorists' NFTs, the risk that attackers will continue to use this method of financing remains. According to US intelligence officials, it is impossible to completely remove NFTs because they are protected from censorship by blockchain technologies.

Also in early September, it became known about an NFT that was created and distributed by a supporter of the Islamic State terrorist group for the purpose of propaganda and mercenary recruitment. The non-interchangeable token, called «IS-NEWS #01,» is an image of the Islamic State emblem with text praising the Islamist militants.