The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2170, adding specific ISIL- and Al-Nusrah-linked individuals to the UN sanctions list and reaffirming measures like asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes. This helped set a common international baseline for blocking funds and support flows to ISIL through formal financial channels.
Resolution 2178 required states to prevent and suppress the financing and travel of “foreign terrorist fighters,” including those joining ISIL. It pushed countries to strengthen laws and enforcement so travel facilitation and related funding could be prosecuted and disrupted earlier.
The U.S. Treasury used counterterrorism sanctions authorities (E.O. 13224) to designate individuals and an entity accused of moving money and fighters to Syria, including in support of ISIL-linked activity. These actions aimed to block access to the U.S. financial system and deter third parties from providing services to listed actors.
Resolution 2199 broadened the UN’s approach from listing individuals to targeting revenue streams, calling on states to prevent trade in oil, refined products, and cultural property linked to ISIL and associated groups. It also reinforced restrictions connected to hostage-taking and ransom payments, aiming to reduce money earned through criminal markets.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a detailed report describing how ISIL raised and used funds, emphasizing that territorial control enabled major income streams like cash seizures and oil exploitation. The report also highlighted practical countermeasures, including stronger implementation of targeted financial sanctions and better information sharing.
Coalition members met in Rome to establish the Counter-ISIL Finance Group to coordinate financial countermeasures against ISIL. The CIFG’s action plan centered on information sharing and coordinated steps to limit ISIL’s access to the international financial system and disrupt revenue tied to territory under ISIL control.
U.S. Treasury announced coordinated designations of multiple ISIL facilitators under E.O. 13224 to hinder their ability to use the international financial system. The action reflected a strategy of combining intelligence, listings, and partner coordination to isolate ISIL finance networks.
Resolution 2253 renamed the existing UN Al‑Qaida sanctions framework to explicitly include ISIL (Da’esh), reinforcing the asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo against listed ISIL-related people and entities. It also strengthened expectations for states to act against key funding channels such as oil trade, cultural property trafficking, and kidnapping-for-ransom.
FATF communications in early 2016 emphasized the need for stronger, coordinated implementation of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing standards to address ISIL-related risks. This aligned with the CIFG’s mission to share information and coordinate actions that disrupt how ISIL raised, moved, and used funds.
Treasury designated an ISIL financier and two money services businesses under E.O. 13224, highlighting how money exchange firms could be used to move funds in conflict zones. The action sought to block the targets’ property under U.S. jurisdiction and warn financial intermediaries about the risks of dealing with ISIL-linked networks.
Resolution 2368 reaffirmed and updated the UN sanctions regime covering ISIL and Al‑Qaida, stressing better implementation by member states and continued adaptation to evolving terrorist threats. It emphasized cutting off funds, restricting travel, and preventing arms acquisition, while maintaining the committee and monitoring structures that support listings and compliance.
Following the UN’s 2017 sanctions renewal, Treasury designated an ISIS fighter under E.O. 13224, illustrating continued use of targeted listings to isolate individuals from the U.S. financial system. By 2017, this approach—UN-wide obligations plus national designations—had become a core pattern for international financial measures against ISIL financing.
International Financial Measures against ISIS/ISIL Financing (2014–2017)