Islamic State's Money Is the Target of Finance Ministers at UN

In the first meeting of its kind, top finance ministers will preside over a United Nations Security Council vote to dismantle the financial network of Islamic State and choke off the extremist group’s access to money from oil and looting.

The presence of Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew as chair, flanked by his British and French counterparts, lends urgency to a resolution co-authored by the U.S. and Russia to tackle the revenue stream of a terrorist group that has extended its territorial reach beyond Syria and Iraq with recent deadly attacks on Beirut and Paris. A UN report estimated that Islamic State was earning as much as $1.7 million a day from crude sales.

This latest push builds on an existing package of measures threatening economic sanctions against countries, financial institutions and individuals that help terrorists profit from trading oil, antiquities or hostages. The resolution to be adopted Thursday will revamp the existing Al-Qaeda sanctions committee to elevate Islamic State as a priority.

Read the full article at Bloomberg Business.