Christine Duhaime, the renowned Canadian Lawyer believes that there are two main sources of ISIL funding; oil and taxes.
“I think that the world community, the banking community agree that it is probably through oil sales, from the production and sale upstream to the regional level, by and large, that seems to be the biggest source and then, secondly, it appears to be internal tax extortion, if you will, imposed on the local community.”
She also included foreign funding as another source of income for ISIL.
“Pressure on foreign governments and the private sector to quit funding ISIS certainly reduced funding for ISIS”, she said in the interview.
As oil extraction requires a highly qualified labor force and special equipment, the lawyer suggests that the ISIL militants captured oil fields with employees and production facility already in situ, so that oil operations, and importantly the cash flows, are not interrupted.
“When ISIS took over some oil fields and the production that came with it, they just moved in and took it over; every oil and gas operation has contracts, infrastructure, dealers, resellers and the production facility itself, and they (ISIL) moved in and kept everyone in place.”
But equipment and man-power have to be replaced over time, so it goes without saying that there are some individuals, banks, companies behind the ISIL militants who provide them with whatever is required simply because “money essentially talks.”
Different banks appear to offer ISIL militants credit lines and big commercial agreements have been made so they could import heavy equipment and other necessary items. ISIL can also buy huge amounts of licensed cars, so the question remains as to who supports all these transactions and, in doing so, is facilitating the biggest ongoing migrant crisis recent history.
The lawyer said that Middle Eastern people are concerned by the visible ISIL convoys which freely pass by without attack from the air.
She believes the more efficient strategy is to isolate ISIL militants financially and not to bankrupt them, as the US government has suggested, which will obviously take much more time.
“If they can’t bank anywhere, they are finished by tomorrow,” said Duhaime adding that no company, no charity, no person can operate without a bank account.
“If we actually can cease their banking relations with the outside world, they couldn’t buy anything, literally even food,” Duhaime concluded.
