After years of building, cleaning, and analyzing, we’re sharing a one-of-a-kind dataset that changes the conversation on terrorist financing. This article launches the Trends in Terrorist Financing 2020-2025 series, highlighting evidence-driven insights on how terrorist raise, use, move, store, and manage funds, cutting through speculation with hard data and contextual analysis.

As sanctions tighten and geopolitical pressure mounts, Iran is turning to cryptocurrency to keep its economy moving. This article launches an eight-part series in examining how Iran uses crypto to evade sanctions and situates it within a wider illicit financial ecosystem.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) secured a $50 million ransom for hostages, along with arms, ammunition, and the release of prisoners. This article examines how the group finances its operations, allocates resources, and the potential impact of these funds on regional security in West Africa

FINTRAC imposed a record-breaking $177 million penalty on a BC-registered virtual asset provider operating without staff or physical presence in Canada. This article highlights the regulatory and compliance challenges posed by global crypto platforms, examines the implications for AML/CFT enforcement, and explores how such entities can facilitate illicit finance, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing.

In this edition of Research Reads we review Chokepoints: How the Global Economy Becomes a Weapon of War, summarizing key insights, and highlighting who should this book is best suited for.

A recent NSIRA review of the CRA’s Charity Audits Division raises concerns about how terrorism-related risks are assessment in Canada’s charitable sector. This commentary breaks down the findings and their implications for counter-terrorist financing oversight.

Is left-wing terrorism actually increasing in the United States? This Research Reads article examines recent claims, assesses the underlying data, and compares US trends with Canada’s experience, to explore what the evidence does-and does not- show.

Canada’s 2025 assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks reveals key development in how the country is- or isn’t - combating illicit finance. This article compares the 2015, 2023, and 2025 reports, highlighting evolving money laundering and terrorist financing risks, methods, and threat actors, and what it means for Canada’s regulatory and enforcement landscape.

Lebanon’s closure of Hezbollah’s Bank, Al Qard al Hassan in 2025, is being hailed as a major disruption, but how much does it really weaken Iran’s hybrid threat finance network? This article explores whether the move marks genuine disruption or simply forces the system further underground.

We reviewed the UN’s 36th Monitoring Team report on ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Qaeda, and affiliated individuals and entities to identify novel developments and key issues related to terrorism financing. This commentary reveals how, even when traditional funding lines are disrupted, these groups diversify income streams, conceal assets, and adapt quickly to enforcement pressures.

The capture of ISIL Somalia’s finance chief, Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, marks a significant disruption to the group’s financial leadership. This articles explores the implications for ISIL’s funding structure, including short-term operational impacts, intelligence opportunities, and potential ripple effects on regional groups tied to the Al-Karrar office.

On July 8, 2025, the RCMP charged four individuals (including active and former military members) with offenses related to forcibly seizing land as part of an anti-government terrorist plot. This article discusses the broader implications for domestic security and the ongoing trend of ideologically motivated violent extremism in Canada.

Al little bit of intelligence and security news from June 2025. This article covers the CSIS Annual Report (2024), an article I published discussing Iran and financing through cryptocurrency, and a podcast I was featured on.

Commentary on how Predatory Sparrow’s cyberattack on Nobitex exposed Iran’s crypto lifeline, threatening IRGC terrorism financing and raising questions about long-term repercussions.

This commentary reviews the FATF’s June 2025 gray and black list updates and provides a sneak peek at emerging analysis on their impact on terrorism financing. It highlights the ongoing need for empirical evidence to understand the effectiveness of these measures.

Commentary on Canada’s 2025 Border Bill (Bill C-2) that promises to combat organized crime, money laundering, and fentanyl trafficking. While the legislation introduces changes like higher penalties and cash transaction bans, it raises questions about whether these measures will have any meaningful impact.

Early in 2025, the United Nations Security Council introduced the Algeria principles, a new global framework addressing the growing threat of terrorist financing through emerging financial technologies. This article explains why these recommendations matter - especially for professionals in FinTech, compliance, financial regulation, and national security - and highlights their role as a vital first step toward adapting policy and practice to evolving risks.

Khalilullah Yousuf’s guilty plea in May 2025 marks another terrorism financing conviction in Canada and offers a window into the evolving mechanics of terrorist financing. The case involved a blend of traditional and modern tactics - from cash transfers and charitable causes to cryptocurrency and encrypted messaging - all within a transnational network. As Canada prepares for its FATF evaluation later in 2025, this conviction also reflects the country’s growing capacity to prosecute financial facilitators of terrorism.

What should national security in Canada look like under the Carney government? This commentary outlines four key priorities: RCMP reform, deeper intelligence partnerships beyond the U.S., better use of intelligence for economic security, and a stronger sanctions regime targeting criminal and cyber actors.

Despite rising concerns about crypto, most terrorist groups still move money the old-fashioned way. This book review explores how traditional methods like bank, hawalas, and high-value goods dominated terrorist financing from 2010 - 2020, and why emerging technologies remained secondary during that period. It’s a timely look at how evidence-based research can help narrow the gap between assumption and operational reality.