Following is the text of a press release by Counter ISIL Finance Group (CIFG): "Over the two days (6-7 October.), the third meeting of the Counter ISIL Finance Group (CIFG) was held at the Treasury Department in Wasington D.C. The CIFG, which co-chaired by Saudi Arabia, the United States and Italy, was established as a key component of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, a broad international group formed to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL. Established in January 2015, the CIFG's mission is to disrupt ISIL's sources of revenue and its ability to move and use funds to wage its campaign of terror. Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin opened the conference and welcome delegations from over twenty-five countries-including officials from central banks, finance ministries, financial intelligence units and foreign ministries-and four multilateral organizations to Treasury for the two-day event. The discussions at the third meeting of the Counter ISIL Finance Group (CIFG) over the course of the meetings mark an important milestone in the international community's understanding of ISIL's financial infrastructure, and how we can undermine it. Detailed briefings were provided on the latest information on ISIL's financial networks and practices, giving coalition members the uniform baseline of information that will ensure effective coordinated follow-up action. The meeting also saw the launch of four outcome-oriented project groups that will serve as platforms for coalition members to cooperate on specific aspects of counter-ISIL finance. Those groups will examine ISIL's cross-border illicit financial flows, smuggling of oil, financial connections with affiliates and looting and sale of antiquities. Finally, the CIFG sought to ensure that counter-ISIL financing efforts are integrated fully into broader Coalition efforts by hearing briefings from and coordinating with the Coalition's military, counter-ISIL messaging, and foreign terrorist fighter groups. This meeting follows the CIFG,S first meeting in Rome in March of this year, where CIFG members agreed to implement an action plan to 1) prevent ISIL from accessing the international financial system; 2) counter the extortion and exploitation of assets and resources that transit, enter, or originate from ISIL-held territory; 3) deny ISIL funding from abroad; and 4) prevent ISIL from providing financial or material support to foreign affiliates. At, the second meeting, which was in May in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, CIFG members released a Communiqué rejecting the payment of ransoms for kidnapping victims to deprive ISIL of this source of revenue. This meeting in Washington is reflecting the progress of CIFG made through providing efforts, briefings and the ideas shared. CIFG will continue to use every tool available to disrupt ISIL financing and make it more difficult for ISIL to operate."
