European Ransoms Fund Terrorism

    On 9 December 2014, French hostage Serge Lazarevic was released after being held captive by an armed group affiliated with Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) since 24 November 2011. Though the French authorities predictably denied paying a ransom for his release, Algerian sources claimed in 2011 that European governments have paid nearly 150m Euros for AQIM since 2007 in order to release their hostages. These figures might sound inflated, but they are not improbable if we take into account the findings of the geopolitical intelligence firm, Stratfor. The American private firm concluded that AQIM received $89m in Ransoms between the years 2003 and 2012. According to a report by the firm submitted to the U.S. administration, AQIM received$5.4m for each hostage in 2011. These findings are further supported by reports in the French press that cited reliable sources. According to an investigation by French daily Le Monde, DGSE representatives handed a ransom of over $23m to release the four French hostages in Niger on 29 October 2013.