Underground terrorist organizations need money to operate. Safe houses, communications, documents, weapons, travel, and support all require significant and sizable infusions of cash. For this reason, the United States government has made great effort to identify and shut down suspected financial conduits supporting bin Laden and his network. It is estimated that an excess of three million dollars is needed to just sustain a terrorist network. Immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, individuals and entities associated with al-Qaeda and bin Laden had their assets frozen. Publicly cited records placed the value of frozen assets at more than $110 million worldwide. In the year since the attacks, it is estimated that an additional $10 million in funds and assets have been seized. The U.S. government and its allies have successfully blocked accounts belonging to 234 individuals and institutions accused of being al-Qaeda members, supporters, or sympathizers. This has reduced the organization’s flexibility and hampered its campaign but it continues to operate. The weakening of resolve on fighting global money laundering since the terrorist attacks and the lapsing of vigilance have contributed to the survival of large portions of al-Qaeda’s network. A recent United Nations report observes that al-Qaeda continues to maintain access to funds to finance further terrorist attacks. Local terrorist cells have been instructed to raise their own funds and locate independent sources of income. Many cells in Europe and the United Kingdom have survived on legitimate business fronts and criminal activity. Commodities like gold and gemstones such as tanzanite, have been used to transfer money outside official oversight. Al-Qaeda has also benefited from the mining and selling of coltan, a black ore used in the production of mobile computers, pagers, and personal digital organizers. Attempts to divert finances from al-Qaeda have largely failed. The likelihood of halting all of the organization’s funds is very low.