The “Capone Discovery”: Extortion as a Method of Terrorism Financing

This article analyzes extortion by terrorist groups. A three-factor theoretical framework borrowed from the literature on organized crime informs the qualitative analysis of several terrorist organizations—active and quiescent—which have committed casual and systematic extortion of businesses and local communities in exchange for protection. It is argued that similarly to organized crime, extortion is a common means of terrorism financing. Terrorist groups, especially those aspiring for statehood, rely on extortion of local communities and businesses under the disguise of “taxation.” Partly by coercion and partly by manipulation, governance-capable terrorist organizations, like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Da’esh, have demonstrated unprecedented ability to reshape the victim-offender relationship in the way that transforms victims of extortion into involuntary terrorist supporters. Viewing terrorist activity through the governance perspective sheds new light on the evolution of extortion and its place in terrorism studies.