In my upcoming book, “Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System” I discuss the transparency between crime and terror. Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) have bled the world’s economy for years from the profits of counterfeiting tax stamps on cigarettes, coupon fraud, and various products and through illegal commercial piracy.

Each year, the list of billionaires are presented, listing the business savvy. It is likely that if the capabilities of TCO’s were known, many criminals would be near the top of the list.

Given the enormity of profits from these schemes, it only makes sense that terror groups would seek to build the same level of financial solvency through these methodologies.