EU Report: Crime Funds Terrorism

Fraud, counterfeiting, burglary and extortion are among the main crimes that terrorist groups use to raise money for their causes, according to the 2009 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, which was released Thursday (16 April).

The report noted that different terrorist groups fund themselves in different ways.

“The majority of the persons arrested on suspicion of financing of Islamist terrorism were involved in fraud. Regarding separatist and left-wing terrorism, the majority of individuals arrested on suspicion of financing of terrorism were accused of extortion,” the report said.

Separatist Attacks on Rise

Though Islamist groups carried out no successful terrorist attacks in the EU in 2008, the report noted that left-wing and separatist terrorism was on the rise. Basque separatists in Spain and France and Corsican separatists in France were behind the vast majority of last year’s attacks, according to the report.

“Law enforcement agencies must stay alert in order to prevent and to keep trying to dismantle terrorist groups and structures,” said Europol deputy director Mariano Simancas. “The threat to EU member states of Islamist as well as ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorism remains high.”

While the overall number of terrorist attacks in the EU in 2008 was down 23 percent from the previous year, seven member states reported a total of 515 failed, foiled or successfully perpetrated attacks. Islamist groups carried out no successful terrorist attacks in the EU. ETA (Basque separatists) attacks in Spain, however, resulted in the deaths of four people, including one police officer. Thirteen member states arrested a total of 1,009 people for terrorism.

-- Beth Kampschror