ISIS Crypto Fundraiser Mohammed Chhipa Faces 20 Years of Sentence in Virginia

Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, of Springfield, Virginia, was convicted on December 13, 2024, of providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations and others. . .

The charges stemmed from her actions between October 2019 and October 2022, during which she raised funds to help female members of ISIS in Syria.

Guilty of financing ISIS operations

in an official Press release, The US Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Chhipa’s efforts included funding the escape of women from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters. He also raised funds through various online social media accounts, received wire transfers, and raised money physically by traveling long distances.

Authorities revealed that Chhipa then converted the money into cryptocurrency, which was sent to Türkiye and smuggled into Syria for use by ISIS. Chhipa’s main accomplice was a British-born ISIS member in Syria who played a key role in fundraising efforts, including for terrorist activities.

Over the course of the scheme, Chhipa sent more than $185,000 in cryptocurrency to support ISIS operations. The jury convicted him of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group and four counts of providing such support.

Chhipa now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2025, where a federal district court judge will determine the sentence based on U.S. sentencing guidelines and other legal considerations.

The role of cryptocurrencies in terrorist fundraising

Many experts have pointed out that ISIS has been using cryptocurrencies to raise funds. The TRM Labs report from last August revealed that pro-ISIS networks in countries such as Tajikistan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan have raised significant funds using crypto assets such as Tether (USDT) on the Tron network.

One such campaign, which operated for over a year, raised nearly $2 million in USDT for ISIS affiliates in Afghanistan. TRM Labs also tracked more than $517,000 in 2022 sent from an Indonesia-based platform to pro-ISIS accounts.

However, it is also important to note that industry experts such as Chainalysis have previously clarified misconceptions about the use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist financing. While entities such as Hamas and Hezbollah use cryptocurrencies to raise funds, these transactions represent a smaller fraction of illicit crypto activities.

Chainalysis emphasizes that terrorist financing remains a small part of illicit crypto transactions overall, with traditional methods such as financial institutions and shell companies being the main sources of financing. The firm also noted that the transparency of the blockchain makes it difficult for terrorists to hide transactions, as seen when Hamas stopped accepting Bitcoin donations.