- Most of the transactions involved USDT stablecoins on the Tron network.
- Terrorist organizations used centralized exchanges.
- The most funds were raised in Tajikistan.
Terrorist groups linked to the Islamic State have used cryptocurrencies for their operations, in countries such as Tajikistan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This is according to a report by analytical company TRM Labs.
The document says that during 2022, several groups in Tajikistan linked to the Islamic State collected about $2 million USDT on the Tron network. Analysts indicated that the terrorists were recruiting militants in Afghanistan. They used a centralized exchange, the name of which was not disclosed, to convert the assets into cash.
With KYC procedures, the platform identified the account holder and notified local authorities. On June 22, 2023, he was arrested by Turkish authorities, TRM reported.
In Pakistan, an Islamic State-linked media outfit has raised about $40,000 in the past 12 months under the guise of helping victims of the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Groups in Indonesia have raised more than $517,000. The main purpose of the collection is to free Islamic State members held in Syrian prison camps, TRM said. Donations to this campaign came in at a significant amount – about $10,000. each.
Transfers from an exchange in Indonesia to platforms based in Syria
An organization called Al-Azaim Foundation for Media Production, which is linked to the Islamic State in Afghanistan, has also used cryptocurrency to raise funds, according to experts. They had wallets in their possession that received $10k.
In the past few years, cryptocurrency has been used by terrorists around the world. For example, Israel recently confiscated “millions of dollars” in crypto-assets from Iranian militants and Hezbollah
And Israel has recently confiscated “millions of dollars” in crypto-assets from Iranian militants and Hezbollah.