This is also the country’s first successful terrorism funding conviction involving crypto use
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that a 36-year-old Toronto resident pleaded guilty before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto to two charges in connection with a terrorism financing scheme with the highest monetary value in Canada’s history.
This case also features the country’s first successful terrorism financing conviction in which the offender used cryptocurrency and the first in which the offender used online crowdfunding, according to a news release from the RCMP.
The RCMP said the offender admitted – in an agreed statement of facts in line with a plea agreement – to terrorism financing, charged under s. 83.03 of the Criminal Code. Specifically, he used cryptocurrency and money transfers to fund terrorism abroad between September 2019 and December 2022.
The offender raised more than $15,000 via GoFundMe and contributed more than $35,000 to numerous recipients for the benefit of Daesh, a listed terrorist organization, the RCMP’s news release said.
The RCMP added that the offender also pleaded guilty to participating in the terrorist group’s activities, charged under s. 83.18 of the Criminal Code. He admitted to creating and distributing more than 3,800 hyperlinks to assist Daesh in its radicalization, indoctrination, and recruitment activities.
The offender communicated with somebody in the US between October 2020 and March 2021, the RCMP’s news release said. That person then received a conviction in the US for trying to support Daesh materially.
“Through partnership and dedication, the GTA Integrated National Security Enforcement Team Terrorist Financing Team halted an individual responsible for supporting terrorist activities,” said James Parr – superintendent and officer in charge of the integrated national security enforcement team for the Greater Toronto Area – in the RCMP’s news release.
The team consists of representatives from the RCMP, municipal, and provincial police forces, as well as federal and provincial partners and agencies. The team seeks to collect, share, and analyze information regarding national security threats and criminal extremism and terrorism, the RCMP’s news release explained.
“I would like to thank all agencies involved for their collaboration in bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion and assisting in the preservation of public safety,” Parr said in the news release.
The RCMP said it led the effort leading to the recent conviction with contributions from:
The RCMP also expressed gratitude to organizations abroad that assisted its efforts: the Spanish Guardia Civil Special Central’s second unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Maldives Police Service.
