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Uzbek national arrested for allegedly financing terrorist groups

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 14:41 Updated: 27 Oct. 2025, 19:36

Officials from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency apprehend an Uzbek national who allegedly sent money raised through donations to an Islamist extremist armed terrorist group in Syria. [GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE AGENCY]

The counterterrorism division of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced on Monday that it had arrested a 29-year-old Uzbek national on charges of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Act on Prohibition of Financing Terrorism, the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations and the Immigration Control Act.

Investigators say he posed as a supporter of the charity “Y,” which runs well-digging projects in Africa, to collect donations between June 2022 and Oct. 16 this year. He allegedly sent the money to Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ), an extremist group based in Syria, and to virtual wallets linked to Hamas, an internationally sanctioned group.

Police said he spread Islamist propaganda through eight social media accounts, posting messages such as “If Allah wills it, we must fight everything that goes against Islam. Let us wage jihad together for Allah.”

KTJ is a terrorist organization whose name translates to “monotheism and jihad.” It was founded around 2014 in northwestern Syria and is said to be composed of ethnic minorities from Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The United Nations designated KTJ an Islamist extremist armed terrorist group in March 2022.

Hamas is an Islamist political party and paramilitary group based in Palestine that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Britain.

A bullet hole on a bus is seen at the scene where a suspected shooting attack took place at the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sept. 8. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The suspect, a follower of KTJ, entered Korea in March 2018 on a D-2 student visa after being accepted to a university in Korea, according to police investigations. Authorities believe he was already involved in terrorism financing while in Uzbekistan before his arrival.

In August 2022, Uzbek authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of violating national criminal law for financing terrorism and subsequently invalidated his passport. The suspect became aware of this while applying to renew his visa in March 2023 and has since extended his stay through 11 separate refugee applications.

While residing mainly in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang, and Anseong, Gyeonggi, the suspect carried out illegal fundraising activities through his social media accounts, posting photos of Muslim refugees and bank account and credit card payment details, claiming to be “supporting charity Y’s well project in Africa.”

He also raised funds by organizing a local football club in a region of Gyeonggi, soliciting donations from fellow Uzbek nationals.

A blurred photo of an Uzbek national, who was apprehended by police for allegedly spreading Islamist extremism on social media and funding terrorist organizations, posing with members from a local football club. [GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE AGENCY]

The suspect raised a total of 626,819 units of the virtual asset Tether. Applying the unit price of 1,520 won ($1) at the time of his arrest, the amount is equivalent to approximately 952.76 million won — the largest amount of terrorist funding ever uncovered in Korea.

“Raising terrorist funds under the guise of a charity is a classic tactic the international community has long warned about,” a police official said. “Terrorist organizations are known to fundraise under the cover of nonprofit or charitable organizations and use the money not only for the operational expenses of their fighters but also to support their families, according to reports from the UN Security Council Counterterrorism Committee and the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.”

Police estimate that about 27 million won of the funds raised were actually transferred to KTJ and Hamas.

Syrian security forces stand guard as residents leave the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria on Oct. 7, following overnight clashes between Syrian government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. [AP/YONHAP]

Following a request from the Uzbek Embassy for his arrest, the police — working in coordination with the National Intelligence Service and the U.S. FBI — tracked down the suspect and apprehended him on Oct. 16.

During questioning, the suspect admitted to transferring the funds to KTJ but claimed that “Hamas and KTJ are not terrorist organizations.”

“We are continuing to trace the suspect’s remaining virtual assets and cash holdings and are also investigating possible accomplices,” a police official said. “We are also checking for any potential threats, including whether any of the funds were intended to support activities related to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju as part of pre-emptive risk management.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI MO-RAN [[email protected]]