Dancing in the dark: terrorist financing via the dark web

Understanding the ways in which terrorist organisations manage their assets is critical to depleting those organisations of their funds and, ultimately, disrupting their activities. Terrorists continue to adapt to evolving technologies and communication platforms in the deployment of more obscure terrorist financing techniques. With little regulation, low barriers to entry, and numerous opportunities, the dark web appeals to terrorists seeking to securely receive large amounts of money from supporters beyond law enforcement oversight. The dark web offers a high degree of anonymity that is fortified through the use of decentralised cryptocurrencies. While cryptocurrencies are used also for legal purposes, their pseudonymity and their lack of independent regulation have made them an attractive vehicle for terrorists. This has created a jackpot for terrorist financing and, simultaneously, exposed a legal blind spot for regulators. The key objective of this paper is to shed light on the prevalent use of the dark web by terrorist organisations in furtherance of terrorist financing activities.