South Korea Arrests Four Over Crypto Payments to Syrian Terror Group

In brief

• Gwangju police said Tuesday they had arrested four Uzbek nationals, one wanted on an Interpol Red Notice, over transfers to Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad.
• The alleged ringleader sent 4,267 USDT to the UN-designated group across seven transfers between August 2024 and April 2025.
• He is also accused of receiving crypto from KTJ and using it to buy and ship $121,000 worth of vehicles to Syria.

South Korean police have charged four Uzbek nationals with financing terrorism, in a case they say is the first to involve crypto flowing out of a designated terrorist group and back as physical goods.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's security investigation division arrested the four in April under the Act on Prohibition Against the Financing of Terrorism, and disclosed the case on Tuesday, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. The alleged ringleader has been indicted and detained and is on trial, while the other three are under investigation without detention. One of the four was wanted on an Interpol Red Notice.

Between August 2024 and April 2025, police say the ringleader sent 4,267 USDT across seven transfers to Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad.

KTJ is a Syria-based group formed in 2014 largely from Central Asian fighters, and has been designated as a terrorist organization by both the United Nations and the United States.