ISIS Crypto Fundraiser Mohammed Chhipa Faces 20 Years After Virginia Conviction

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 as an organization terrorist 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 ISIS members in Syria.

Guilty of financing ISIS operations

In an official press release, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Chhipa’s efforts included financing the escape of women from prison camps and supporting ISIS fighters. He also raised funds through various online social media accounts, receiving electronic transfers and physically collecting money by traveling long distances.

Authorities revealed that Chhipa converted the money into cryptocurrency, which was sent to Turkey and smuggled into Syria for use by ISIS. Chhipa’s main accomplice was a British member of ISIS 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 charge. A sentencing hearing is set for May 5, 2025, where a federal district court judge will determine the sentence based on the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal considerations.

The Role of Crypto in Terrorist Fundraising

Many experts have pointed out that ISIS has been using cryptography to raise funds. The TRM Labs report 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 ran 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 cleared up misconceptions about the use of cryptocurrency in terrorist financing. Although entities such as Hamas and Hezbollah use cryptography for fundraising, these transactions represent a small fraction of crypto-illicit activities.

Chainalysis emphasizes that terrorist financing remains a small part of overall illicit crypto transactions, and traditional methods such as financial institutions and shell companies are 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.

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