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Report: ISIS Could Be Making $2 Million a Day from Oil and Extortion

Report: ISIS Could Be Making $2 Million a Day from Oil and Extortion

The terrorist group that has taken over massive areas in Syria and Iraq is making millions of dollars every day from oil and various criminal enterprises, according to a new report. ISIS—or The Islamic State, as they are calling themselves—is known for their extreme brutality against locals who do not adhere to their radical ideology. And because of their large funding sources, they may be even difficult to stop. From Bloomberg:

“The Islamic State is probably the wealthiest terrorist group we’ve ever known,” said Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. Treasury terrorism and financial intelligence official who now is director of the counterterrorism and intelligence program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “They’re not as integrated with the international financial system, and therefore not as vulnerable” to sanctions, anti-money laundering laws and banking regulations.

A U.S. intelligence official told the finance site that because of the group’s widespread use of “extortion, kidnapping, robbery, oil smuggling” and other illicit revenue-generating methods, they may be bringing in up to $2 million every single day. After invading towns throughout Iraq, the organization now controls several large oil fields, and may have extorted as much as $10 million in ransoms from the families of kidnapping victims …

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