The good news is that post-9/11 measures have decreased the flow of money--especially out of the Gulf States--the bad news is that terrorists don't need a lot of money for operations. Moscow Times:

Wealthy Chechen businessmen and Islamic and pro-Chechen charities in the Persian Gulf, Jordan, Turkey, Europe and the United States once accounted for most of the hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising. It was mostly done through a far-flung Chechen diaspora and Islamic charities often using murky and secret transactions that are difficult to track.

Now the money is smuggled into Chechnya largely by private businessmen traveling through Azerbaijan, the Chechen activists and experts said.

The largest contributions are believed to still be from the gulf, with smaller amounts moving through Turkey, Europe, Islamic states and even North America.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department accused an American arm of a Saudi charity, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, of links to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The department alleged the charity tried to conceal funds intended for Chechnya by omitting them from tax returns and mischaracterizing their use.

The Treasury Department also said there were allegations that donations made to Al-Haramain for Chechen refugees were diverted to rebels and Chechen leaders affiliated with al-Qaida.

"Finances have been flowing into Chechnya in support of both the global jihad and the separatist movement," said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman at the Treasury Department.

Aid groups insist the money they collect is for refugees and infrastructure in Chechnya, but Chechens and terrorism financing experts say at least part of the funds is diverted to fighters.

"Money for refugees, it never existed," Nasho said. "The money went to the fighters."

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