Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Today In Finance: "Mosul Seized: Jihadis Loot $429m from City's Central Bank to Make Isis World's Richest Terror Force"

There's also some oil in the deal.
From the International Business Times:
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis) has become the richest terror group ever after looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars - the equivalent of $429m (£256m) - from Mosul's central bank, according to the regional governor.

Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi confirmed Kurdish televison reports that Isis militants had stolen millions from numerous banks across Mosul. A large quantity of gold bullion is also believed to have been stolen.

Following the siege of the country's second city, the bounty collected by the group has left it richer than al-Qaeda itself and as wealthy as small nations such as Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Falkland Islands....MORE
We'll probably be seeing a repeat of one of these any day now:

Position Available: CFO 
Got a thirst for adventure, an unquenchable religious fervor, and a willingness to trade in the corner office for a cave?

Then al-Qaida has the job for you!
Following a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan, the media is reporting the death of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, also known as Sheik Saeed al-Masri. As a founding member of al-Qaida and third-in-command behind Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, Masri was characterized variously as the organization's chief financial officer and its chief operations officer.

So what does a terrorist CFO actually do?
Multitask.

Al-Qaida is far less centralized than it was in its pre-9/11 heyday, when it had an official finance committee (headed by Masri), but it still operates in many ways like a company—a franchiser, to be more specific....MORE
Previously:
"The Economics of Al-Qaeda in Iraq"