Story highlights
- An expert describes ISIS as the world's wealthiest terrorist organization
- The currency will include seven coins: two gold, three silver and two copper, according to ISIS
- The group says its aim is to stay away from the "tyrant's financial system"
- ISIS has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria
ISIS is planning to mint its own currency in gold, silver and copper, the group said Thursday.
Its aim is to stay away from the "tyrant's financial system," ISIS said in a statement. It said it would issue another statement to explain the new currency's exchange rate, and where it can be found.
The currency will include seven coins: two gold, three silver and two copper.
The move is "purely dedicated to God" and will remove Muslims from the "global economic system that is based on satanic usury," ISIS said.
The terror group, which calls itself the Islamic State, has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.
It seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region.
Where does ISIS get its money? 02:22
Photos: ISIS currency
Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – ISIS announced that it will begin minting its own currency in gold, silver and copper. There will be seven different coins, valued in dinars. There's no international exchange rate for this currency, without which an accurate value is not possible. ISIS says this gold coin will be worth 1 dinar.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This gold coin will be worth 5 dinar, according to ISIS. The map on the back depicts the ISIS plan of world domination. The terrorist group said its "treasury department" is involved in setting up the currency.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This silver coin will be worth 1 dinar. The monetary move is "purely dedicated to God" and will remove Muslims from the "global economic system that is based on satanic usury," ISIS said.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This silver coin will be worth 5 dinar.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This silver coin will be worth 10 dinar.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This bronze coin will be worth 10 dinar.
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Photos: ISIS currency
ISIS to begin minting its own currency – This bronze coin will be worth 20 dinar. A former U.S. Treasury official says the group's funding comes from oil, ransom payments, taxes and the sale of stolen artifacts.
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"Unlike its predecessor al Qaeda, which raised money principally from external sources ... ISIS is principally, primarily self-funded," Jimmy Gurule, a former U.S. Treasury undersecretary, told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Thursday.
He said its funding comes from oil, ransom payments, taxes and the sale of stolen artifacts.
"This is the wealthiest terrorist organization that the world has ever known, and so with that kind of money it's hard to understand -- what's the potential? What could they do with that?" Gurule said.
He added: "The difficulty, of course, with that kind of money is you can't just put that money in shoe boxes and place it under your mattress. It has to enter into the financial system at some point in time. So I think the Treasury needs to be focusing on banks -- banks in Qatar for example, and in Kuwait -- that may be the recipients and handling money for ISIS."
