ISIS can no longer rely on oil for its income
ISIS is diversifying its economy, selling fish and cars to make up for losses in oil revenue, according to Iraqi authorities.
Reuters reports that fish farms and car dealerships bring in millions of dollars a month for the organization now that the United States has targeted its oil infrastructure and forced fighters into pay cuts.
“After the armed forces took control of several oil fields Daesh was using to finance its operations, the organization devised non-traditional ways of paying its fighters and financing its activities,” the new Iraqi report says (using an Arabic acronym for ISIS).
According to Reuters, fish farms have helped bring in money to militants since 2007, but they were only discovered by authorities this year. But new revenue is being generated by seizing car dealerships and factories from the government.
An analysis firm in the United States said last week that ISIS revenues have fallen by about a third since last summer to about $56 million a month.