Tajik supporters of ISIS raised over 2 million dollars in cryptocurrencies

Groups associated with the terrorist organization ISIS have actively used cryptocurrency to finance their operations in Asia.

According to a report by the blockchain analytics company TRM Labs, evidence has been found over the past 12 months that ISIS-supporting groups in Tajikistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have used several million dollars in cryptocurrency to fund their activities.

In particular, the report notes that several groups supporting ISIS in Tajikistan have used cryptocurrency, including for recruiting militants to join the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan. TRM Labs identified that one fundraising campaign had been active for over a year, and approximately 2 million US dollars were deposited into its account in 2022.

It is reported that after identifying the campaign and tracking its funds on the blockchain, TRM Labs notified the exchange, which identified the individual managing the account. Based on this information, on June 22, 2023, a native of Tajikistan, Shamil Khukumatov, the main person responsible for fundraising for ISIS, was detained in Turkey.

In 2022, individuals from Indonesia associated with ISIS sent over 517 thousand dollars to support ISIS in Syria, including for the release of ISIS families from Syrian camps. In May 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on five Indonesian citizens for facilitating money transfers from Indonesia to ISIS members in Syria.

In Pakistan, media linked to the ISIS affiliate in Pakistan (ISPP) raised about 40 thousand US dollars in cryptocurrency over the past 12 months. It is reported that they attempted to use the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria for fundraising.

In Afghanistan, a fund associated with ISIS, whose main activity is recruitment into ISIS, raised about 10 thousand US dollars to finance its operations.

The report also indicates that most operations related to terrorist organizations in Asia were conducted using the stablecoin Tether on the Tron network. Approximately 92% of financial transactions related to ISIS groups were made in USDT.