Israeli counter-terror stops over $30 million from reaching Hamas

Israeli government agencies work together to stem the money flow to terrorist and criminal groups.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Led by Israel’s anti-terror financing agency, authorities have managed to seize NIS 103 million (over $30 million) meant for the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.

Sagi Volkovitz of the Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel (NBCTF) announced the achievement at a conference Tuesday celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA).

IMPA, headed by financial crime expert Shlomit Wagman, falls under the authority of the Justice Ministry. The agency works with the Police Counterterrorism Unit, the Mossad, and Shabak, as well as the tax and customs agencies to try and dry up the money supply that terrorists count on to enable all their activities.

There is also close cooperation between Wagman’s team of investigators and special courts and prosecution teams that were trained and established three years ago specifically to deal with serious economic wrongdoing, including digital currency crime and organized mafias as well as terrorism financing.

In an in-depth interview on IMPA’s activities last week, Wagman told The Jerusalem Post: “Our methodology is follow the money… We seize funds or cut through the straw men to get to the real assets; we get to the heart of the network, and get to the professional money launderers assisting the terror and criminal organizations.”

Unlike criminal organizations, which fraudulently turn ill-gotten gains into income from legitimate sources – the definition of money laundering – terrorists often fool honest people into giving them money, Wagman said. They think they are contributing to charities, or they pay for real goods that they actually receive, while the donations or payments are funneled to the terrorists instead.

“So we don’t go for the sources of the funding, but their destinations,” she said.

IMPA uses artificial intelligence, advanced algorithms and machine learning among its sophisticated high-tech tools to find patterns and links between disparate individuals, groups and companies that can be spread out over several countries, let alone cities.

“Sometimes it takes that level of sophisticated technology to make the connections to find terrorists’ or gangs’ tricks for hiding their funds, but they always leave a trace,” said Wagman.

“Even the best criminal makes mistakes – even if he works in cash. Money has a smell, and it leaves the financial equivalent of footprints.”