Man arrested in Russia on terrorism charges after raising $6,500 in crypto

Russian security forces have arrested a man they accuse of having used crypto to raise funds for armed terrorist groups.

The suspect, from Kaspiysk in Dagestan, allegedly collected about $6,500 worth of unnamed crypto over a year while living in Turkey, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB. State news agency TASS first reported the arrest.

The FSB said it’s charged the man with providing assistance to terrorist organisations and that the investigation remains ongoing.

“While he was living in Turkey between October 2022 and October 2023, the suspect created a group on a social media platform,” the FSB said. “He posted his crypto wallet details in this group and asked followers to send donations.”

The agency did not specify which terror campaign the man is accused of financing.

Crypto adoption is on the rise in Russia, where officials say citizens spend almost $650 million per day on unregistered crypto trading platforms.

Moscow says it uses a proprietary crypto monitoring platform called Transparent Blockchain, developed by its anti-money laundering agency, to hunt crypto-powered crime and terrorism.

Agency’s probe

FSB officials said the man sent the crypto he raised to members of illegal armed groups. These members allegedly used $6,500 in crypto to buy weapons, ammunition, and other equipment.

The officials did not reveal the identity or the political alignment of the terrorist groups.

The FSB says it has remanded the man, whose name was withheld for legal reasons, in custody.

The agency has stepped up its scrutiny of crypto fundraising since 2023, when Transparent Blockchain was launched. The FSB has made multiple arrests on treason charges against individuals who donate crypto to the Ukrainian armed forces or pro-Kyiv Russian militants fighting in what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation in Ukraine.”

The FSB said last year that it arrested a total of around 300 people in the North Caucasus region, of which Dagestan is a part, on terrorism-related charges.

Some of the arrestees were charged with attempts to join foreign terrorist groups and “Ukrainian nationalist units.”

Last month, the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, reported a rise in influencers who use social media campaigns to raise crypto for radical terror groups.

The FATF said investigators are using a range of blockchain analytical protocols to help them freeze terrorism-linked crypto wallets.

Investigators say they had evidence that Islamic State affiliates in Afghanistan were accepting donations made in crypto.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.