Lifeblood of Terrorism

The financing of terrorism and its related activities may be ages old however formal directions to counter this threat is a relatively a new phenomenon. While initiatives commenced internationally in 1963 with the adoption of 14 universal legal instruments and four amendments Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) came into focus in 1999. The world witnessed unprecedented devastation in all its manifestations on 9/11 with an impact that was similar to that of aircraft crashing into the twin towers. The strike jolted the US and resulted in the declaration of Global War on Terror (GWOT) against al Qaeda and its affiliates. The war on CFT was formalized soon thereafter with the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.