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US man who sent crypto to ISIS could serve prison till he’s 65

A man from the US state of Virginia will spend over three decades behind bars after being convicted of sending crypto to the terrorist organization commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Federal Judge David Novak sentenced Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa to 30 years and four months in prison on May 7 for sending over $185,000 to the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on May 8.

Prosecutors said that from around October 2019 until October 2022, the 35-year-old Chhipa collected and sent money to female Islamic State members in Syria, which helped them escape prison camps and funded fighting.

The Justice Department said Chhipa would raise funds for the United Nations-designated terror organization through social media — receiving money online, or traveling hundreds of miles to accept donations in person. 

He’d convert the money into crypto and send it to Turkey for it to be smuggled to Islamic State members across the border in Syria, prosecutors said.

A federal jury convicted Chhipa in December, finding him guilty on a charge of conspiracy to provide support to a terrorist organization and four charges of providing and attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization.

US man who sent crypto to ISIS could serve prison till he’s 65
An undated picture of Chhipa, a naturalized US citizen born in India. Source: Alexandria Sheriff’s Office via TRM

“This defendant directly financed ISIS in its efforts to commit vile terrorist atrocities against innocent citizens in America and abroad,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “This severe sentence illustrates that if you fund terrorism, we will prosecute you and put you behind bars for decades.”

Chhipa tried to flee US during FBI probe

Prosecutors said that during the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into Chhipa, he tried to flee the country to escape prosecution and tried to hide his tracks through a series of actions seemingly aimed at confusing authorities.

According to a motion for detention filed in August, FBI agents searched Chhipa’s house on Aug. 2, 2019, and that night Chhipa drove to a bank, withdrew $1,800 from an ATM, and then went to a Taco Bell, where he paid a stranger for a ride to a relative’s house. The relative then drove him to a grocery store.

Related: US Treasury sanctions Myanmar militia group for alleged crypto scams

Three days later, prosecutors said Chhipa “purchased a series of bus tickets using variations and/or misspelling of his name and recently created email accounts.”

He then travelled from Virginia to Mexico and onto Guatemala. He then bought tickets to fly from Guatemala to Panama, then onto Germany, and then to Egypt, but an Interpol Blue Notice was issued, and he was returned to the US.

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Plume Network gains SEC transfer agent status to bring TradFi onchain

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Plume Network gains SEC transfer agent status to bring TradFi onchain

Plume Network gains SEC transfer agent status to bring TradFi onchain

Plume’s SEC registration lets it manage tokenized securities under US law, a step toward merging traditional markets with blockchain infrastructure.

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EU eyes crypto oversight under ESMA to end fragmented supervision

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EU eyes crypto oversight under ESMA to end fragmented supervision

EU eyes crypto oversight under ESMA to end fragmented supervision

ESMA moves to take direct control of crypto oversight under MiCA as EU states clash over cross-border licensing and fragmented market supervision.

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Half of Tory members do not want Kemi Badenoch to lead party into next election, says poll

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Half of Tory members do not want Kemi Badenoch to lead party into next election, says poll

Half of all Conservative members think Kemi Badenoch should not lead the party into the next election, according to an exclusive Sky News Tory members poll.

The YouGov poll found 46% think the current Tory leader should stay in place when the country next goes to the polls, while 50% say she should not.

Tory members are split as to whether she will make it that far. A total of 49% think she will be out before the election, compared with 47% who think she’ll still be in place.

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The Tory leader will hope that this week’s conference in Manchester will steady her leadership.

But asked who they would prefer as leader of the Conservative Party, 46% of Tory members picked Robert Jenrick, comfortably ahead of the 39% who said Ms Badenoch. In all, 11% said neither and 4% don’t know.

The poll of 652 Conservative members was taken between 26 September and 2 October.

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Having lost to Ms Badenoch a year ago, Mr Jenrick is now comfortably the members’ favourite, and would beat Boris Johnson, James Cleverly and Priti Patel. Badenoch would narrowly beat Johnson if they went head to head.

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Ms Badenoch rejects any kind of electoral pact with Reform UK at the next election, but this is out of step with Tory members.

The poll finds 64% support an electoral pact, meaning Reform and the Tories would not stand candidates against each other in target seats, while 31% do not.

Almost half of Tory members – 46% – would support a full blown merger with Reform UK, against 48% who would oppose a merger.

Party members are very clear that in a hung parliament, they would not want to see Tory MPs putting a Labour prime minister back in Number 10.

Tory members oppose a coalition with Labour by 93% to 6%. However 73% would welcome a coalition with Reform UK in a hung parliament, with 25% against.

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