Terrorism financing and money laundering: two sides of the same coin?
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-03-2017-0021 |
| Pages | 962-968 |
| Author | Frederic Compin |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
Terrorism financing and money
laundering: two sides
of the same coin?
Frederic Compin
Classe Préparatoire DCG, Lycéee Robert Doisneau, Corbeil-Essonnes,
France and Sciences Humaines, Centre Pierre Naville,
Université d’Evry Val d’Essonne, Evry, France
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to analyse howterrorism financing can be assimilated with money
launderning when the amounts ofmoney involved differ so markedly. Not only is the cost of financing
terrorist attacks minimal compared to the huge sums often at stake in financial crimes, but also the
psychological profile of terrorists, who are reclusive by nature, contrasts starkly with that of financial
criminals, who are usually fully integrated members of society. When terrorism financing is equated with
money launderingthis represents a utilitarian approach in thatit facilitates the creation of a security strategy
and stifles criticism of criminogenic capitalismthat turns a blindeye to tax evasion.
Design/methodology/approach –The analysis is conceptual,focussing on the assimilation of terrorism
financing with money laundering. There is an interview with a French magistrate, specialized in the fight
against corruptionand white-collar crime, and data have been collected from internationalorganizations and
scholarlyarticles.
Findings –The fight against money laundering and money dirtying has clearly sparked numerous
controversies around evaluation, scope, criminal perpetrators and a lack of vital cooperation between
administrativeand judicial services.
Social implications –This paper raises questions about the reasons behind the linking of money
laundering and money dirtying by statesand players in public international law and why the fight against
money laundering is very much overshadowed by their focus on terrorist financing in dealing with the
growing threatof Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL,in the Middle East and West Africa.
Originality/value –The paper enables the reader to raise the questionof similarities between the fight
againstmoney laundering and the fight against terrorism financing.
Keywords Tax evasion, Money laundering, Tax avoidance, Terrorism financing, ISIS, Money dirtying
Paper type Viewpoint
Chomsky’s (2001) response on thenight of 9/11 is very relevant when attempting to answer
the question posed by the title of this paper:
The September 11 attacks were major atrocities [...] As to how to react, we have a choice. We can
express justified horror; we can seek to understand what may have led to the crimes, which
means making an effort to enter the minds of the likely perpetrators.
These two premises lead us to question the natureand effectiveness of the official discourse
and institutional response whichcombats current threats by linking money laundering and
terrorism financing, a discourse which predominated during the Bush administration. Has
this common misconceptioncontributed to the ideological extension of a mistruth?
Indeed, concocting plausible lies to win over publicopinion is reminiscent of the rhetoric
of present-day policymakersand economic players. Michael Lewis (1990) in Liar’s Poker, his
JFC
25,4
962
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.25 No. 4, 2018
pp. 962-968
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-03-2017-0021
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