AQAP's Financial Network
Cận Đông - Bắc Phi và Trung Đông
Giới thiệu
Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that leads to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the Yemen-based terrorist organization al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Based in Yemen, AQAP raises funds through a variety of financial activities, including extortion, oil smuggling and sales, human trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, fake charities, and donations from benefactors abroad. AQAP leaders have used these funds to finance weapons purchases, training, and terrorist operations, and to take control of parts of Yemen.
The U.S. Department of State is offering rewards for information leading to the identification and disruption of AQAP’s revenue sources and key financial facilitation mechanisms, to include:
- Front companies engaged in international activity on AQAP’s behalf;
- Entities or individuals assisting AQAP in evading U.S. and international sanctions;
- Formal financial institutions doing business with AQAP;
- AQAP transfers of funds and materials;
- AQAP donors or financial facilitators;
- Financial institutions or exchange houses facilitating AQAP transactions;
- Businesses or investments owned or controlled by AQAP or its financiers;
- Online fundraising campaigns launched by or for the benefit of AQAP;
- Financial account numbers and virtual currency wallet addresses used by AQAP to transfer funds and conduct business;
- Criminal schemes involving AQAP members and supporters, which are financially benefiting the organization.
AQAP emerged in January 2009 following the unification of Yemeni and Saudi terrorist elements. AQAP’s stated goals include establishing a caliphate and implementing Sharia law in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Middle East. AQAP has targeted local, U.S., and Western interests in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as abroad. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts, including the January 2015 assault on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people.
AQAP is an affiliate of the core al-Qa’ida (AQ) terrorist organization and works closely with AQ’s global leadership to target Western audiences and enhance collaboration with other affiliates. AQAP’s key value to the organization is its role as a financial and facilitation link between the AQ-broad network.
AQAP launched a failed December 25, 2009, attempt to destroy an airliner with a bomb worn by terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The group also hid explosives inside computer printers being shipped to the United States inside two cargo planes in late 2010; the bombs were discovered and rendered safe on October 29, 2010, during stopovers at two different locations.
Vào ngày 19 tháng 1 năm 2010, Bộ Ngoại giao Hoa Kỳ đã chỉ định AQAP là Tổ chức Khủng bố Nước ngoài (Foreign Terrorist Organization) theo mục 219 của Đạo luật Di trú và Quốc tịch (Immigration and Nationality Act), đã được sửa đổi, và là Lực lượng Khủng bố Toàn cầu được Chỉ định Đặc biệt (Specially Designated Global Terrorist) theo Sắc lệnh hành pháp 13224, đã được sửa đổi. Do đó, tất cả tài sản và quyền lợi về tài sản của AQAP mà thuộc vùng thẩm quyền của Hoa Kỳ đều bị phong tỏa và người dân Hoa Kỳ nói chung bị cấm tham gia vào bất kỳ giao dịch nào với AQAP. Việc cố ý cung cấp, hoặc cố gắng hoặc âm mưu cung cấp sự hỗ trợ về vật chất hoặc nguồn lực cho AQAP là phạm tội.
