The so-called “Islamic State” has heralded the creation of its own coin currency cast in precious metals. DW spoke with a threat finance scholar to examine its role as a tool for money laundering and propaganda.
In September 2015, the “Islamic State” (IS) released a video entitled “Rise of the Khilafah: Return of the Gold Dinar.” In it, IS criticized the banknote for allegedly displacing “gold and silver, which Allah created as the standard mediums of exchange for the purchase of goods and services.”
The militant group announced the creation of its own currency in what it described as an effort to uproot a “financial system of enslavement” and adhere to the religious tenets of Islamic finance.
However, with Iraqi forces pushing into the heart of Mosul, where the militant group in 2014 acquired more than $400 million (376 million euros) in cash and a “large quantity of gold bullion,” the group’s supply of precious metals is increasingly under threat. – READ MORE
