International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 54

The Fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in West Africa
Alliances Between Terrorist Groups
17. In 2016, a leadership crisis caused a split within Boko Haram. This led to the
emergence of Ansaru, and to Boko Haram's alliance with ISIS, which renamed it
the Islamic State in West Africa. There have also been reports of alliances between
Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab (which operates in the Horn of Africa and East Africa)
to train its fighters.
18. In 2016, some reports claimed AQIM had recruited former members of the
Libyan branch of Ansar al-Sharia. There has been no information in 2017 to confirm
this. Signs of tension between groups with links to AQIM and those associated
with ISIS have been noted.
19. In the north of Mali, close links have developed between Ansar Dine and Tuareg
separatist groups. These groups control the transit, smuggling, and trafficking
zones of the Sahel, and are likely to have formed partnerships with criminal organizations.
It should be recalled that Ansar Dine and AQIM fought the National
Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (Mouvement National de Libération de
l'Azawad, MNLA) together, and it appears that AQIM's activities in the northern
territories has long been controlled by Ansar Dine.
In May 2016, a new coalition of four terrorist groups (AQIM, Ansar Dine,
al-Mourabitoun, and the Macina Liberation Front) was created in Mali. Named
"Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin" (Group to Support Islam and Muslims), it is
led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of Ansar Dine, and claims allegiance to al-Qaeda.
Anti-Terrorist Strategies
20. Nationally and regionally, responses to this challenging situation have involved
the adoption of a number of strategic documents and security policies. Within
this context and on a regional level, GIABA participated in a joint typologies exercise
with the FATF and the Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa
(Groupe d'Action Contre le Blanchiment d'Argent en Afrique Centrale, GABAC)
in order to update its typologies report on terrorist financing, first published in
2013. This new typologies exercise provided information about the financing
methods and techniques used by terrorist groups in West and Central Africa. This
should facilitate appropriate, effective government policy decisions, as well as the
work of criminal investigators and prosecutors in the fight against terrorism.
21. At the national level, governments have increased prevention and awareness-raising
activities, and have urged their countries to implement the whole
range of counter-terrorism strategies used by the United Nations, ECOWAS, and
the African Union. More financial and material resources are gradually being
made available to national security forces. Collaboration between state services
has been strengthened. Legislative texts and decrees that provide a better frame-
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