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3/19/2020

Counter ISIS Finance Group Leaders Issue Joint Statement | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Counter ISIS Finance Group Leaders Issue Joint Statement
September 24, 2018

WARSAW, POLAND – On September 20-21, the Counter ISIS Finance Group (CIFG) convened its
52 member states and observers in Warsaw, Poland to discuss the ongoing global e orts to
counter ISIS financing. The CIFG was established in January 2015 as one of five working groups
within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, a broad international group formed to degrade and
ultimately defeat ISIS. This was the tenth meeting of this group co-chaired by the United States,
Italy, and Saudi Arabia.
Below is a joint statement that can be attributed to leaders of the Counter ISIS Finance Group:
“The Global Coalition has made significant progress in the fight against ISIS. ISIS’s so-called
caliphate has collapsed. The terrorist group has lost nearly all of the territory it once controlled
in Iraq and Syria. But, ISIS is now attempting to hide in the shadows, in Iraq and Syria, with
branches, a iliates, and cells around the world. Accordingly, the work of the CIFG remains more
important than ever, and the member nations committed today to intensify their e orts.”
“The finance working group is used by member countries to identify and disrupt ISIS’s ability to
generate revenue and access financial systems. On the first day of the meeting, CIFG members
shared information to continue building a common understanding of the evolving threat posed
by ISIS. Members discussed specific successes in identifying terrorist financiers and bringing
them to justice. They also shared specific information on funding mechanisms utilized in South
and Southeast Asia, as well as in Europe. Ideas on best practices to address emerging trends
were shared. The working group also discussed how to mitigate risks from ISIS’s potential
exploitation of stabilization and reconstruction funding into Iraq and other a ected countries.
Members acknowledged the importance of preventing the trade in archeological property
illegally removed by ISIS from Iraq and Syria and the value of recovery and reconstruction of
cultural heritage in the stabilization process. On the second day of the meeting, delegates
discussed the best ways to combat kidnapping for ransom, and how to e ectively communicate
the Coalition’s continued success against ISIS financiers.”
“Even as ISIS desperately seeks new sources of funding, it is adapting its techniques. Our
Coalition must adapt as well. The CIFG’s tenth meeting added new member countries to the
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3/19/2020

Counter ISIS Finance Group Leaders Issue Joint Statement | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Coalition, enhanced collaboration among like-minded countries and multilateral organizations,
and reinforced the fact that the CIFG continues to play an essential role in the Global Coalition’s
broader fight to defeat ISIS.”
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