Chhipa sentenced for financing ISIS via cryptocurrency, U.S. strengthens anti-terrorism measures - IcoHolder.

A 35-year-old man from Springfield, Virginia, was sentenced to over 30 years in prison for sending cryptocurrency to support the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization. On May 7, Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa was handed a 30-year and four-month sentence by a federal judge, after being convicted of providing material support to ISIS.

Chhipa's actions involved sending over $185,000 in cryptocurrency over a three-year period, helping fund ISIS's operations in Syria. The Department of Justice (DOJ) described him as a key financial facilitator, using social media to raise funds, which he then converted into cryptocurrency. These funds were sent to intermediaries in Turkey, smuggled across the border into Syria, and used to support ISIS operatives, including fighters and female detainees.

In December 2024, a federal jury convicted Chhipa on multiple charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors said Chhipa’s role was critical in moving money through cryptocurrency to obscure its origins and avoid detection by authorities.

Chhipa’s primary contact was a British-born ISIS member in Syria, who was involved in planning terrorist attacks and organizing breakouts. To conceal his activities, Chhipa used various tactics, including creating misspelled email accounts and aliases, and even attempting to flee the U.S. during the investigation. He traveled through several countries before being apprehended in Egypt and returned to the U.S. under an Interpol Blue Notice.

U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert emphasized that Chhipa knowingly and consistently funded an extremist organization bent on spreading violence. This sentencing highlights the growing trend of U.S. enforcement actions targeting the use of cryptocurrency in terrorist financing. Authorities have increasingly focused on disrupting financial networks that support terrorist groups like ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

Last month, the DOJ seized over $200,000 in cryptocurrency linked to Hamas, part of a larger laundering scheme. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has also blacklisted crypto wallets associated with sanctioned entities, further strengthening efforts to disrupt terrorist financing. U.S. agencies continue to stress that dismantling these financial networks is vital to weakening the operational capabilities of terrorist organizations.