George Osborne and Philip Hammond will meet with world finance ministers today to discuss measures to “choke off” the finances of Islamic State (ISIS).
The Chancellor and Foreign Secretary announced Britain will join allies, including France and America, to exploit “vulnerabilities” in the terror group’s financial network.
Both men are due to attend the first meeting of finance ministers at the UN security council in New York where they will discuss sanctions aimed at “middlemen” who help ISIS.
Among these are understood to be travel bans and freezing of bank accounts.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph today, the Conservative cabinet ministers warn ISIS, also known as Daesh, is earning around $1.5 million every day by selling oil from territories seized in Syria.
They wrote: “Seizing large areas of territory in Eastern Syria and Western and Northern Iraq has allowed Daesh to take control of a large number of oilfields.
“It extracts oil not only for its own use, but for onward sale at discounted rates to middlemen.
“Indeed, the Syrian oil fields are thought to be providing Daesh with around $1.5 million every day.
“We know that the military action we are now taking with our allies, targeting oil infrastructure, is starting to limit this resource. But we can and should do more.”
“The UN sanctions regime can and should be used to target traders and middlemen who facilitate the illegal trade in oil - and also the antiquities Daesh loots so wantonly.
“We need better cooperation and communication between our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify these people.”
British RAF pilots have focused bombing on ISIS controlled oil fields in Syria, as well as Iraq, since Parliament voted to conduct air strikes earlier this month.
