Advisory Notice to Licensees on Terrorist Financing

The Commission wishes to draw licensees' attention to the current military action in Iraq and Syria and the associated funding of the extremist insurgency group, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant ("ISIL").

Reports suggest that ISIL is acquiring military hardware leftover from the Libyan conflict which is being transported to Iraq and Syria through neighbouring jurisdictions such as Jordan, or military hardware from the former Soviet states via Azerbaijan. There are also indications that ISIL may be seeking additional income streams as the main sources of its funding from taxes, fees, oil trading and sale of antiquities come under pressure in the wake of recent territorial losses and the current military campaigns against it in Iraq and Syria.

In view of these reports the Commission is urging licensees to be particularly vigilant in relation to any transactions associated with these geographical areas, and particularly where licensees are providing services to clients who trade in these regions. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the Financial Intelligence Service in the usual manner.