A UN expert monitoring sanctions against Al-Qaeda says the Islamic State militant group has received between $35 million and $45 million in ransom payments in the past year.
On November 24, Yotsna Lalji told a meeting of the UN Security Council's Counterterrorism Committee that an estimated $120 million in ransom was paid to terrorist groups between 2004 and 2012.
She said in recent years Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have made kidnapping "the core Al-Qaeda tactic for generating revenue."
She highlighted an October 2012 recording from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri inciting militants worldwide to kidnap Westerners.