Islamic State member jailed for 12 years after funding group in Bitcoin

TL;DR Breakdown:

• Hisham Chaudhary was found guilty of seven offenses under the Terrorism Act, and he has been jailed for 12 years.
• He was an active member of the Islamic State. 

A “highly active” member of the Islamic State, Hisham Chaudhary, has been sentenced to jail following his role and the fundings he made to the terrorist group through Bitcoin. The 28-year-old Chaudhary from Oadby, Leicestershire, was found guilty of seven offenses under the Terrorism Act about two months ago, and “he posed a high risk of harm to the public,” said Judge Paul Farrer at Birmingham Crown Court.

Chaudhary funded Islamic State in Bitcoin

Chaudhary set up a Bitcoin system that reportedly enabled send about $72,070 (i.e., £52,000) to support the Islamic State movement without getting caught. According to Judge Farrer, he repeatedly funded the group in support of the extraction of IS members in detention camps. In a Telegram message, Chaudhary said, “we’ve been doing this for years, and no-one’s been caught by the virtue of Allah.”

Chaudhary is guilty of two counts of funding terrorism, four counts of disseminating a terrorist publication, and one count of membership of a proscribed organization, as per the report. He has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. He will serve an extra five-year extension on license after a Probation Service. 

“You’re an intelligent man, but unfortunately, your actions demonstrate you’re a committed extremist intent on furthering a terrorist agenda for Islamic State,” says Judge Farrer. 

Terrorists concealing funds in Bitcoin

Last year, Cryptopolitan reported an American member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Zoobia Shahnaz, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for laundering and financing the group using cryptocurrency. 

Terrorism financing is one major roadblock the cryptocurrency space ought to challenge. Due to the anonymity of cryptocurrency, several terrorist groups and illegal actors are leveraging them to fund or launder funds.