The world's wealthiest terrorist group? IS makes $1m a DAY just by selling oil

Officials said that IS are making massive amounts of money from black market oil sales, ransom, and extortion.

17:22 24 October 2014

Islamic State is now considered one of the world’s wealthiest terrorist group, making around $1million per day from black market oil sales alone. They also make money through ransom and extortion as confirmed by David Cohen, treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

He added that the group now presents a particular challenge to the US working to choke off money flows. "We have no silver bullet, no secret weapon to empty ISIL's coffers overnight. This will be a sustained fight, and we are in the early stages.”

Yet "with the important exception of some state-sponsored terrorist organizations, ISIL is probably the best-funded terrorist organization we have confronted.”

Meanwhile, Marwan Muasher, vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace agrees with the findings. He said that IS is now "considered the world's wealthiest and most financially sophisticated terrorist organization.”

Aside from black market oil sales, the group also made $20million this year from kidnapping journalists and European hostages.

US airstrikes have started in an attempt to halt the group’s ability to produce oil.