Police uncover ISIL's funding network in Türkiye's Aegean region

İZMİR

İzmir police have dismantled one of the ISIL’s financial networks that provided over 100 million Turkish Liras (nearly $2.9 million) in funding to the terrorist organization, effectively disrupting monetary flows across Türkiye’s Aegean region.

As part of a year-long investigation, the police scrutinized the banking transactions of 23 suspects, producing comprehensive financial analysis reports for each individual.

These operatives, entrusted with facilitating ISIL's financial infrastructure, were found to be engaged in diverse sectors such as jewelry, currency exchange, retail, telecommunications, food supply and logistics.

The suspects reportedly orchestrated crowdfunding campaigns under the guise of "charity" and "donations" via social media platforms, siphoning commissions from the collected funds.

According to the findings, these funds were covertly transferred to ISIL operatives and conflict zones without documentation or official records. The operatives relied on unregistered overseas companies and communicated via WhatsApp groups to execute these transactions using the "Hawala" system — a trust-based informal value transfer network.

In this system, the amount sent abroad was relayed to the recipient, who then retrieved the funds from a designated Hawala office using a password.

Upon completing these transfers, the suspects converted the campaign proceeds into goods tied to their respective business sectors. These goods were subsequently shipped to entities aligned with ISIL, serving as a conduit for the illicit financial exchange.

The investigation unveiled that this mechanism funneled over 100 million liras to ISIL within a span exceeding one year.

The counterterrorism branch executed operations that dismantled ISIL's financial apparatus in the Aegean region, effectively severing the monetary pipeline, the sources said.