Financing Violent Extremists

or racially motivated terrorism financing.

FATF says that the findings in this report are based on inputs from around thirty jurisdictions across the FATF Global Network, as well as expertise from the private sector and international bodies partnered with the FATF.

Here is the report’s Executive Summay.

Executive Summary
Ethnically or racially motivated terrorism (EoRMT) is a complex phenomenon that encompasses a wide range of actors. These range from individuals, that operate as lone actors or so called “lone wolves” to small and medium organizations, as well as transnational movements which span borders, and sometimes even continents.

This is the FATF’s first report on ethnically or racially motivated terrorism financing (EoRMTF). It builds on previous work conducted by other international organizations, including the United Nations, as well as work being done in the non-profit and academic sectors, and FATF’s existing expertise on terrorist financing (TF). This report brings

together expertise from jurisdictions and institutions which have had experience in tackling EoRMTF with an aim to increase the understanding of TF risks related to extreme right wing actors more broadly among competent authorities, non-governmental bodies, the private sector, and the broader public. The findings in this report are based on inputs from around 30 jurisdictions across the FATF Global Network, as well as expertise from the private sector and international bodies partnered with the FATF.

This report finds that while extreme right wing terrorist (ERWT) attacks are mainly perpetrated by self-funded lone actors, extreme right wing (ERW) groups employ an array of fundraising techniques. These include donations (through both crowdfunding and private contributions), membership fees, commercial activities (including organization of concerts, sales of merchandise and real estate ventures), and criminal activities. Notably, most of the funding for ERW groups appears to come from licit sources. ERW groups appear to be less concerned with concealing their transactions than in other forms of TF, many jurisdictions also reported that ERW actors are becoming increasing operationally sophisticated in how they move their funds. Finally, funds appear to be used for varying activities, ranging from financing of attacks, to purchasing

equipment, training, creating and dispersing propaganda, recruitment, networking, legal fees, and even purchasing and maintaining real estate assets.

This report highlights several challenges in tackling the financing of ERW-motivated groups and attacks. These include, but are not limited to, different legal regimes in place for combatting ERWT in different jurisdictions; few national designations of groups; growing transnational links between groups (and, in some instances, individuals who have perpetrated terrorist attacks); the fact that most ERW attacks are carried out by self-funded lone actors; and, the limited public-private partnerships in place for exchanging financial information.

Jurisdictions are encouraged to continue to develop their understanding of EoRMTF, especially through including this threat in their national risk assessments (NRAs), working with relevant public and private partners on threat detection, and exchanging best practices with relevant international partners to tackle the increasingly transnational characteristics of EoRMTF.

The COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on mass gatherings throughout 2020 and 2021 have significantly affected an important financial source for ERW groups, namely the organization of ERW concerts and events. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis has provided a recruitment opportunity for violent extremist groups. This may mean that in the coming period ERW groups to seek for new methods of funding or to an increased use of already existing sources.

It is vital that jurisdictions maintain their focus on the evolving threat posed by EoRMTF in order to build on the work conducted by FATF and other bodies, and achieve meaningful progress in addressing the challenges identified in this report.