8 charged in French cryptocurrency scheme to finance militants
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said
Saturday that eight people have been charged for their alleged involvement in a
complex scheme financing Islamic extremists in Syria through the use of
cryptocurrencies.
Two suspects have been handed preliminary charges of
financing terrorism and terrorist conspiracy in a judicial investigation opened
Saturday. The same preliminary charges have been given to another suspect in a
related case.
Five other people who have been charged with financing
terrorism will be sent to trial by the end of the year, the statement said.
The prosecutor’s office said French police arrested
a total of 30 people around the country in the case. Most were released without
charges.
Earlier this week, a statement from the
anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said search warrants are out for the two
main figures in the scheme, French militants who have likely been in
northwestern Syria since 2013 and are suspected of creating “the architecture
of this network of terrorism financing.”
The scheme was initially uncovered by a team within
the French Economy Ministry that traces fiscal fraud, money laundering and
terror financing.
This week’s police operation targeted a financing
network that has been active since 2019. It was based mainly on the purchase in
France of cryptocurrency coupons, details of which were transferred by secure
messaging to militants in Syria, who could then retrieve the money through
cryptocurrency platforms.
Hundreds of thousands of euros are thought to have
been supplied via the network, benefiting members of Al-Qaeda still hiding out
in Syria and also militants of the Daesh group.
