How Effective is the UN Mechanism in Combating Terrorism Financing? The Case of Qatar and the Former Chechnyan Leader Yandarbiyev

On February 13, 2004, Zelimkhan Ahmedovich Yandarbiyev, the acting President of the breakaway Republic of Chechnya from April 1996 to February 1997, died in Doha, the capital of Qatar, from wounds inflicted after his car exploded. Even though is not certain since when he had resided in Qatar, Russia has claimed since 1999. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which is not recognized by the international community, claimed that the attack was planned and executed by the Russian Security Forces, the Russian government has categorically denied any involvement in the incident. On February 26, 2004, Qatari authorities informed the Russian government that they had arrested three Russian citizens on murder charges in connection with his assassination. One of the three arrested persons, the First Secretary of the Russian embassy, was later released.