Financing of Recruitment for Terrorist Purposes

Recruiting members and supporters is crucial to a terrorist organisation's survival. Each terrorist organisation has different recruitment techniques, depending on whether it is a large or small organisation, or a dispersed network of individuals.

Using input collected from authorities within the FATF Global Network, this report increases understanding of terrorist organisations’ funding needs to recruit members and supporters. In some cases, these funding needs are minimal. This report identifies the most common methods of recruitment used by terrorist organisations and terrorist cells, and the costs associated with these different methods and techniques of terrorist recruitment:

Personal needs of the recruiter and the maintenance of basic infrastructure for the recruitment / facilitation network
Production and disseminationof recruitment materials
Payment for goods and services to facilitate the new recruits' early participation in the terrorist organiation
Financial incentives provided directly to recruits or for the hiring of mercenaries or civil experts

This report sheds a light on how terrorist organisations fund the recruitment of new members and supporters, from fastfood restaurant ‘headquarters’ to financial incentives for new recruits, and will help authorities detect and disrupt these recruitment activities.