American experts on Islamic State activity in South Africa
In 2022, the Islamic State (IS) committed more than 1,500 attacks around the world, with the Middle East (Syria and Iraq) and Africa as the epicenters of their terrorist violence.
In the summer of 2022, IS in its al-Naba newsletter identified Africa as the territory where it would most likely be able to re-establish a territorial caliphate. IS affiliates and networks in Mozambique, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Mali have been very active in carrying out terrorist attacks against civilians and security forces.
At the same time, but in a less obvious manner, there is a network of IS financiers based in South Africa who are fuelling violence on the continent. Indeed, in March 2022, the United States government noticed financial activities of IS cells in South Africa, which in particular funded IS groups in the DRC and Mozambique.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions in March 2022 focused on the financial activities of Farhad Hoomer, an IS intermediary based in Durban, South Africa. Hoomer financed IS-DRC through a range of illegal activities, including kidnapping for ransom, extortion of businesses, and providing real estate and vehicles to IS fighters.
Another member of the IS cell based in Cape Town taught other people how to carry out robberies, while other members of the IS cell based in South Africa provided funds, technology and goods to IS groups based in Mozambique and Somalia.
IS cells in South Africa have been very creative in acquiring weapons, financing and moving cargo across porous borders, given the weak border security and insufficient financial guarantees in South Africa, in order to spur jihadist insurgencies across the African continent.
American experts point out that the March 2022 sanctions were intended as a warning to South Africa to take better action against illicit funding, which is a long-standing problem for a government plagued by endemic corruption.
With growing concerns about IS funding from South Africa, combined with the country's inability to suppress IS cells, the US Treasury is likely to sanction individuals and businesses associated with IS in South Africa again soon.
In November 2022, the US Treasury identified four business partners of Hoomer’s cell and eight companies owned or controlled by IS cells based in South Africa.
The March and November 2022 designations show how deeply IS has taken root in South Africa. Shell companies identified by the US Treasury included gold trading, construction, footwear and jewelry companies. In addition, according to the US Treasury Department, Hoomer expressed his intention to attack the United States and its allies. Hoomer's threats are not an exceptional case.
In 2017, the State Department identified South African twin brothers Brandon Lee Tulsi and Tony Lee Tulsi as IS members under Executive Order 13224 for planning an attack on the U.S. embassy and Jewish institutions. The Tulsi brothers maintained contacts with IS.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has drawn attention to South Africa's lax attitude towards countering terrorist financing. At the last minute, in an effort to avoid being put on the FATF's so-called “grey list” for inadequate laws and regulations against terrorist financing and money laundering, the South African government enacted anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws on 6 January 2023. However, South Africa's latest efforts were not sufficient, and the FATF added South Africa to the “grey list” in February 2023.
The potential implications for South Africa being put on the FATF “grey list” are serious. When countries are added to the FATF “grey list”, it serves as a notice to financial institutions such as banks and investors that the country does not have an enabling environment for doing business. If South Africa does not improve its AML/CFT system, companies could refrain from doing business in the country.
- IS cells operating in South Africa provide broader support for IS operations.
- In 2022, the United States imposed sanctions against several individuals and entities based outside of South Africa for their involvement in terrorist financing.
- In February 2023, FATF added South Africa to its “grey list” due to inadequate efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering in the country.