US Man Funneled Thousands In Crypto To ISIS Over 3 Years, Faces 20 Years In Prison (UPDATED)
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a response from a Department of Justice spokesperson
A Virginia man has been found guilty of sponsoring the operations of ISIS, a Middle East-based terrorist organization, with tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrencies, a Justice Department release said Monday.
What Happened: Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, a 35-year-old resident of Springfield, Virginia, was involved in collecting and sending money to female ISIS members in Syria from October 2019 to October 2022. The funds were utilized to support ISIS in various ways, including aiding the escape of female ISIS members from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters.
Chhipa used various social media platforms to raise funds. He received electronic transfers and even traveled hundreds of miles to collect funds in person. The collected funds were then converted into cryptocurrency and sent to Turkey, from where it was smuggled into Syria for ISIS members.
Over the course of the conspiracy, Chhipa managed to send over $185,000 in cryptocurrency, the release read. Benzinga contacted the Department of Justice to identify the cryptocurrencies involved in Chhipa’s transactions, but a spokesperson said that this information was not disclosed during the trial.
The man now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count.
Why It Matters: This case is part of a broader trend of terrorist organizations leveraging cryptocurrencies for their operations. In May 2023, Israeli authorities seized nearly 190 cryptocurrency accounts on Binance linked to ISIS.
In fact, over the years, organizations have shifted their focus from the traditionally preferred Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) network.
In November of last year, it was observed that militant groups were favoring the Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) blockchain over Bitcoin for their cryptocurrency transfers.
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