ABSTRACT
Tackling the sources of finance was considered essential in degrading terror group capability, as the costs of financing terrorism ranged from maintaining organisational infrastructure, weapons procurement, recruitment, training, group welfare and transportation. By the late 1990s, the nature of Irish terrorist financing had undergone significant change, with traditional fundraising activities such as extortion and armed robbery superseded by more complex and sophisticated forms of organised crime, such as tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting. International cooperation around counterterrorist financing (CTF) was formalised by establishing a consensus around principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures that were effectively institutionalised within a multilateral framework. Financial intelligence adds value in several areas and has emerged as a key asset for CTF practitioners. Future consideration of the operational value of financial intelligence to assist CTF interventions is inevitably bound up with concerns regarding the impact which these collection technologies may pose for liberal governance and the balance in the social contract between the citizen and the state.
