Emerging challenges for combating the financing of terrorism in the European Union: financing of violent right-wing extremism and misuse of new technologies

ABSTRACT

This article explores two emerging challenges for combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) within the European Union (EU): the challenge to counter the financing of violent right-wing extremism/terrorism and the increasing misuse of new technologies, such as internet tools and cryptocurrencies for the financing of terrorism. Despite rising levels of violence emanating from transnational violent right-wing extremist networks and rising numbers of documented cases of the misuse of new technologies, a common understanding of the threat landscape is only now emerging. Existing EU CFT instruments, developed to primarily counter the threat emanating from Islamist terrorism, have not been adjusted sufficiently. Legislative, regulatory and operational gaps exist. However, a beginning multilateral discussion concerning the threat posed by right-wing extremism/terrorism, the Terrorism Content Online Regulation (TCO), the planned Digital Services Act (DSA), as well as the discussion concerning further regulating the cryptocurrency sector in the EU provide new opportunities.

KEYWORDS:

• Combatting the financing of terrorism
• right-wing extremism/terrorism
• misuse of internet services
• misuse of cryptocurrencies
• European AML/CFT mechanism
• EU regulations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Currently renamed “Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET)”, https://gifct.org/research/

 

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Hans-Jakob Schindler

Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is the Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project, co-chair of the Advisory Board of the Global Diplomatic Initiative in London and member of the Board of Directors of Compliance and Capacity Skills International (CCSI) in New York as well as a teaching fellow at the academy for Security in the Economy (ASW Akademie AG) in Essen. In 2013 he joined the ISIL (Da'esh), al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council and served as the Team's Coordinator from 2015 to 2018. Prior to his appointment, he worked in the private sector in London between 2011 and 2013 and in the German government on terrorism related issues between 2005 and 2011. Having studied in Tübingen, Georgetown, and Tel Aviv he holds a Masters and PhD degree in International Terrorism from St. Andrews University in Scotland.