Police authorities track foreign funding of Islamic State-linked JAD

The National Police are tracking a source of funding for Islamic State-linked homegrown militant group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), after authorities uncovered a flows of funds from people in five different countries to an alleged mastermind behind the group’s terror attacks.

The global-scale funding was revealed following the arrest of an alleged terrorist identified as Novendri last week in Padang, West Sumatra, who informed the police that he had obtained funds from one of JAD’s elites known as S or Daniel or Chaniago, said National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo.

According to a police investigation, S received funds totaling Rp 413.17 million (US$29,569) wired from 12 different people with alleged ties to the Islamic State (IS) in five countries through Western Union, the world’s largest money transfer company, from March 2016 to September 2017.

The five countries were Trinidad and Tobago, Maldives, Germany, Venezuela and Malaysia, Dedi said as quoted by kompas.com.

“We are cooperating with our counterparts in several countries [to investigate the case],” Dedi said, “The National Police’s Densus 88 antiterror squad has also conveyed the information to embassies [of the five countries] in Indonesia.”

The police also worked together with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to trace the flow of funds wired to members of JAD, which has been banned in the country for carrying out acts of terror.

S, who has been on the National Police’s most-wanted list for some time, was the alleged mastermind of multiple terror attacks in Indonesian soil and was believed to be staying in Afghanistan with a number of Islamic State (IS) combatants.

Dedi said the money transferred to S had been used to fund terror activities in Indonesia, such as, purchasing materials to assemble bombs that were later handed over to the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

The police investigation also found that S had funded the journey of an Indonesian couple and members of JAD who were believed to be behind the Jan. 27 suicide bombing of a church on Jolo Island in the Philippines.

Densus 88 personnel are currently pursuing another alleged terrorist identified as Abu Saedah, who reportedly served as a middleman and wired the funds to assemble bombs from S to Novendri.

“When Abu Saedah is arrested, we will be able to get more details on the [JAD] networks under him,” Dedi said.

Source: Jakarta Post