U.S. Man Sentenced for Funding ISIS with cryptocurrency
A Virginia resident has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison for using cryptocurrency to support ISIS. Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa, 35, received a 30-year and four-month sentence on May 7.
chhipa sent more than $185,000 to ISIS over three years. He used crypto to fund escape operations and combat efforts in Syria. Prosecutors say he was a key figure in moving funds through crypto to avoid detection.
Chhipa was convicted in December 2024 on multiple counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization. He used social media to raise money, converting it into crypto before sending it to intermediaries in Turkey.
From Turkey,the funds were smuggled into Syria to support ISIS fighters and female supporters in detention camps. The DOJ says Chhipa’s actions bolstered ISIS’s operational capacity.
Chhipa used various tactics to hide his activity, including misspelled email accounts and aliases. he even attempted to flee the U.S. during the examination, traveling through multiple countries before being stopped in Egypt.
U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert stated that Chhipa knowingly provided a considerable amount of money to fund the violence of an extremist organization.
This sentencing is part of a growing series of U.S. enforcement actions targeting crypto in terrorist financing.Authorities are disrupting digital funding networks linked to groups like ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
Last month, the DOJ seized over $200,000 in crypto tied to Hamas. The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC has also blacklisted crypto addresses used by the houthis.
U.S. enforcement agencies stress that disrupting financial pipelines is key to weakening terror groups’ capabilities.
