Chapter 9 – Financing the Toronto 18

Abstract

Thethwarted Toronto 18 terrorist plot was an early indication ofthings to come for terrorist financing in Canada and internationally.The self financed plot demonstrated how terrorist cells, even thosenot directed by a terrorist group, could obtain enough money to fullyfund a sophisticated and complex attack. In total, the main elementsof the Toronto 18 plot likely cost thousands of dollars, but theorganiz ers of the plot had accumulated far more than they needed forthe components of the attack and had enough money to rent a safehouse, pay for plane tickets to escape prosecution after the attack, anddevelop a plausible cover story for their activities. De spite thefinancial elements of the plot, no terrorist financing charges were laidin the case. This may have been due to the lack of internationalfunding of the plot and a conceptualization within Canada’s lawenforcement and security services at the tim e that terrorist financingcame from “ The lack of financing charges in this case mayhave had longstanding implications in Canada, where, to date, veryfew charges of this nature have been laid, even 15 years after the plotwas disrupted.