Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on (a) academic and (b) other research conducted in (i) the UK and (ii) other European countries that establishes a link between the funding of ISIL and the trade in contraband (A) cigarettes and (B) other goods.

The Home Office does not hold academic or other research of this sort.

A number of departments are involved in the Government’s efforts to degrade and defeat ISIL and experts from across government have spent considerable time analysing ISIL’s funding flows. Based on the information available, we believe
that a substantial share of ISIL’s revenue is derived from the sale of oil and commodities, taxation and extortion. It is likely that revenue generated from the smuggling of tobacco accounts for some of this, although the amount is
believed to be relatively small as a share of ISIL’s total revenue.