Alleged Provision of Approximately 770,000 KRW to UN-Designated Terrorist Group KTJ
A foreign international student who attended a university in Busan was arrested for providing cryptocurrency to fund the armament of an international terrorist.
The Security Investigation Division of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 26th that they forcibly deported and apprehended a foreigner suspected of violating the Act on the Prohibition of Terrorist Financing by providing approximately KRW 770,000 worth of cryptocurrency (USDT) twice in January and February 2022 to a terrorist fund recruiter affiliated with the UN-designated terrorist group KTJ in Syria.
KTJ (KHATIBA AL-TAWHID WAL-JIHAD) means "Monotheism and Jihad" and is active in Syria. In March 2022, the UN designated it as an Islamic extremist armed terrorist group.
It is known that it costs about USD 550 (KRW 770,000) to arm one terrorist fighter, and the arrested foreigner, Mr. A, effectively funded the armament cost for one terrorist.
The battlefield in Syria posted on Telegram by the terrorist organization KTJ. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]
According to the police, Mr. A is a foreigner of Central Asian nationality who was enrolled as an international student at a university in Busan from August 2016 to September 2022. During this time, he sympathized with Islamic extremist activities after watching terrorist propaganda videos of the KTJ terrorist group on social media.
Mr. A was recruited through social media by a friend of the same nationality whom he met during his studies, who had gone to Syria and become a member of the KTJ terrorist organization. Following his friend's instructions, Mr. A sent terrorist funds through a cryptocurrency dealer.
After supporting terrorist funding, Mr. A was forcibly deported from South Korea in September 2022 on charges of a special law violation (hit-and-run). He then went to Mexico in February 2023 and was later found to have illegally entered the United States.
The police tracked Mr. A, confirmed his illegal stay in the U.S., issued an arrest warrant and an Interpol red notice, and initiated criminal justice cooperation (extradition) with the Ministry of Justice (Busan District Prosecutors' Office). Subsequently, through international cooperation with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Mr. A was apprehended on the 13th, forcibly deported back to South Korea, and sent to the prosecution under detention.
This investigation marks the first case of forcibly deporting a foreign terrorist suspect to South Korea since the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Act and related laws. After two years of tracking, the arrest of Mr. A contributed to maintaining South Korea's status as a terror-free country.
A police official stated, "Even providing a small amount to a terrorist organization is a crime punishable by imprisonment, as it supports inhumane terrorist groups that kill people, and such acts are severely punished."
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