On December 13, Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa residing in Springfield, was convicted by a federal jury on multiple counts associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a foreign terrorist organization.
As reported in the U.S. attorney’s press release, the evidence in the trial showed Chhipa operated a multi-year scheme, starting from at least Oct. 2019 to 2022, to funnel cash to female ISIS supporters in Syria.
These funds allegedly helped finance a range of terrorist activities, including enabling the escape of those with ties to ISIS from prison camps as well as funding the ISIS fighters themselves. Prosecutors even portrayed the defendant’s cryptocurrency use as central to his operational modus operandi as he tried to conceal the place of origin and the receiving address of the funds transferred.
Chhipa’s main contact was a British-born ISIS operative in Syria who had funded prison breakouts and terrorist attacks and had provided direct support to ISIS fighters. In total, throughout the conspiracy, Chhipa wired the equivalent of more than $185,000 in cryptocurrency, converting the money he collected online and in person. Then, he would convert those contributions into crypto and send them to intermediaries in Turkey after receiving fiat contributions through electronic transfers and cash.
The counts of conviction include conspiracy to provide financial support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, as well as four counts of providing or attempting to provide such support. Chhipa is facing up to 20 years in federal prison on each count, and a sentencing date has been set for May 5, 2025. Since sentences may be below the statutory maximum, the sentence, in this case, will be determined by the federal district court after consideration of applicable guidelines and factors.
The case, brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division, spotlights a longstanding problem in the crypto industry. Illicit cryptocurrency transaction volumes were at an all-time high of $20.1 billion in 2022, up from $14 billion in 2021, as per Chainalysis.
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