In this conversation with Danish Shaikh, Editor, The International Wire, Dr. Hans Jakob Karl Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project and former Coordinator of the UN Security Council’s ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Team, reflects on the evolution of counterterrorism policy, the enforcement of international sanctions, and the growing intersection between terrorism financing, compliance frameworks and geopolitical risk. From emerging financial technologies to extremism prevention, the discussion examines how governments and the private sector must recalibrate strategies in an era where security threats are increasingly transnational, decentralized and financially sophisticated.

Hans-Jakob Schindler is director of the NGO Counter Extremism Project and has been investigating how extremist and terrorist organizations finance themselves for more than 25 years. He knows the pattern: "On the one hand, extremist groups try to dominate public discourse with their actions. On the other hand, it's always about mobilizing supporters and generating funds,“ says Schindler. It's important to understand that even small contributions of a few hundred francs or euros can make a big difference. ”Extremist groups specialize in achieving a big impact with little money."

Hamas and ISIS finance themselves through a global network of private supporters. According to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, this generates millions, often through many small individual donations, including from Germany. They often disguise their activities as humanitarian aid in order to obtain money. According to Schindler, they sometimes even blackmail aid organizations in crisis areas. IS is particularly active in Germany. After attacks, it deliberately spreads new messages to demonstrate strength, attract new donors, and prepare further attacks. Islamists, whether from IS or Hamas, operate their own propaganda channels on the Telegram platform, spreading messages and actively soliciting donations.

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed about terrorism financing in Germany for BR radio feature. “The ‘caliphate’ of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ is long gone. But IS supporters continue to carry out attacks. And new Islamist structures are emerging in prison camps in Syria. The necessary funds for this come from donations, including from Germany. Donors are sometimes unaware of what they are doing, say lawyers, and investigators in this country are having a hard time, say experts.”

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler cited on terrorism financing in Germany.

From the perspective of terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the research organization "Counter Extremism Project," this makes the work of investigators in Germany extremely complicated: "You practically have to prove that this euro was intended for a Kalashnikov, explosives, or the preparation of an attack. That's a level of stupidity that few terrorist financiers achieve."

"You effectively have to prove that a specific euro was intended to go towards the purchase of a Kalashnikov or explosives or the preparation of a specific attack," explains Hans-Jakob Schindler of the New York, London and Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP). "And [giving away such evidence] would be a level of stupidity which few terror financers ever reach."