Islamic State makes nearly $20M a month in stock market investment scheme.

Filthy rich? Islamic State makes nearly $20M a month in stock market investment scheme.(Albawaba).

Islamic State [Daesh] militants are earning up to £14 million (approximately $20 million) a month by funneling cash looted from Iraqi banks into legitimate currency speculation.

The group seized hundreds of millions of dollars when it ransacked Mosul banks in June 2014, giving it the means to re-inject the cash back into unsuspecting foreign markets.

Yesterday a Foreign Affairs sub-committee heard that this money is routed into financial markets in Jordan, where it is used to play the stock market and then rewired back to ISIS operatives in Iraq.

The move into such a sophisticated method of money laundering provides another platform for the group's funding, along with its well-established oil production, extortion, and harsh local taxes.

The hearing heard ISIS was funding its stock market gambles with money taken from Iraqi civil servants' pension payments as well as looted cash, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Using the alternative acronym ISIL to refer to the group, MP John Baron, the sub-committee's chair, said: 'The cash that ISIL has looted, along with siphoned off pension payments, is routed into Jordanian banks and brought back into the system via Baghdad.

'That allows the system to be exploited by ISIL, in that they take a turn on the foreign currency actions and siphon that cash back.'

The siphoned cash is returned to ISIS operatives by the 'hawala' system of money transfer, an informal transfer system common in the Middle East, the paper reported.

It requires brokers, who know and trust one another, to act and the depositing and withdrawal points for individuals willing to transfer cash to one another.

As the money is not actually shifted between the brokers, they settle the debt incurred by the individuals' withdrawal with one another at a later point.

With an estimated £1.3billion ($1.84 billion) fortune, the group can afford not only to pay foreign fighters who join its cause in the Middle East, but easily expand beyond its borders to launch attacks in the West.

Though figures of its wealth vary widely, one report estimated it was selling £1million ($1.41 million) per day in crude oil and kidnappings were worth £30million ($42.2 million) per annum.

As well as these income streams, it was enforcing taxes of 20 per cent across a population of 10 million, and controlled 40 per cent of Iraq's wheat production. Read the full story here.

UK Man has Prostate Removed After Tests Reveal ‘Jolie’ Gene Flaw.

UK Man has Prostate Removed After Tests Reveal ‘Jolie’ Gene Flaw.(Ibitimes).By Tom Porter. A 53-year-old British father has become the first man to have his prostate removed because tests revealed he was carrying a "faulty" cancer gene.

A clinical trial at London's Institute of Cancer Research revealed that he carried the BRCA2 gene, which research shows is associated with a high risk of developing prostate cancer.

Several of the man's family had suffered from breast or prostate cancer, which is why he took part in the study.

The closely associated BRCA1 gene has been known for some time to have links with breast cancer, and last week actress Angelina Jolie revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy when tests revealed that she carried the gene.

After receiving the news the man asked doctors to remove his prostate, which tests had shown to be healthy.

Surgeons were initially reluctant, since the potential side effects of the operation include infertility, incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

MRI scans and a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA tests, did not show the presence of malignant cells, but microscopic examination revealed cell changes associated with cancer, prompting the surgeons to act.

Surgeon Roger Kirby told the Sunday Times: "The relatively low level of cancerous cells we found in this man's prostate before the operation would these days not normally prompt immediate surgery to remove the gland, but given what we now know about the nature of BRCA2, it was definitely the right thing for this patient." After the gland was removed, tests revealed previously undetected cancers. "This patient is now absolutely fine. A number of these BRCA families have now been identified, and knowing you are a carrier is like having the sword of Damocles hanging over you. You are living in a state of constant fear. I am sure more male BRCA carriers will now follow suit."Hmmmm.......As from Day One i had bad vibes about this whole thing, now given the following story below i'm starting to believe my gut feeling was right on this one.Read the full story here.

Related:  Angelina Jolie part of a clever corporate scheme to protect billions in BRCA gene patents, influence Supreme Court decision (opinion)?