European funding is a major factor for the continued proliferation of Al-qaeda, Boko Haram and other terrorist networks, an investigation by the New York Times has found out.
By paying ransom for kidnapped Europeans, Europe funds al-Qaeda’s global business across the globe.
Europe has, thus, become terrorists cash cow. It purchases arms, trains and finances its members through these ransoms.
Ironically, even though they deny paying ransoms, it was found that European countries paid al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid in 2013.
This is despite numerous agreements calling for an end to ransom paying, including the 2013 G8 summit, where some of the biggest ransom payers in Europe signed a declaration agreeing to stamp out the practice.
Quite naturally, the foreign ministries of Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland and other countries denied paying terrorists. But the United States Treasury Department was reported to have put ransom payments at around $165 million over the same period. These payments were through a network of proxies, and in the guise of development aid, the report said.
