Draining the Ocean to Catch one Type of Fish: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Counter-Terrorism Financing Regime

Recognising that the rest of this issue looks in greater detail at how terrorists move money, this article will begin with just a brief review of one of the most resilient methods of fundraising for Jihad that we believe is not well understood – ‘Tajheez al-Ghazi’ – as well as the use of fundraising auctions and the ‘justification’ of criminality. It will then evaluate the international community’s response to the terrorist financing threat, and, in particular, review the interaction of the global CTF framework with fragile states and the impact on financial inclusion. The article concludes by recommending some improvements to a regime that has grown relatively unchecked over the past decade and which, some suggest, has tried to ‘catch one type of fish by draining the ocean’.