Govt monitors darknet as terror modules take crypto funding route

NEW DELHI:  From raising money with ISIS sympathisers and wiring funds to Syria, to transferring remunerations to terror recruits in India by outfits operating across trans-national borders, crypto wallets are being used by disruptors and terrorists for fund movements in the Indian subcontinent.

A recent analysis by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed that crypto wallets are being widely used by terror operatives, handlers. With hawala and traditional illegal routes being watched closely by authorities, crypto channels have been established between foreign terror handlers in India.

In a chargesheet filed at special court in Delhi last week, the NIA submitted that Mohammad Mohsin Ahmad, a resident of Patna, was involved in raising funds for ISIS from sympathisers in India and sending it to his Syria-based handlers via crypto-currency channels.  He was arrested after a case against him was registered in June last year for radicalising Indian youth. 

Like Ahmad, Reshaan Thajuddin Sheikh of Udupi district and Huzair Farhan Baig of Shivamogga district were arrested by the NIA last month, on suspicion of links with terror outfits. Recurring investigations 
revealed that they received funds from ISIS handler through crypto-wallets.

The entry of terrorist organisations into the metaverse space is a matter of concern, said an official of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). “The fact that terrorists are using the darknet to spread radical content, tapping it for financial transactions by concealing their identities is a challenge,” he said, adding “Understanding and tracking the use of virtual assets like cryptocurrency and mapping the patterns of darknet activities are our top priority.”

Counter-terror officials have made representations before the MHA to ban cryptocurrency. “They have also sought strict monitoring platforms. Decentralised surveillance units should be set up by financial intelligence wings at strategic locations that can be monitored from a central control room,” an official said.

NIA unearths links
Recent analysis by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have revealed that crypto wallets are being widely used by terror operatives, handlers. With hawala and traditional illegal routes being watched closely by authorities, crypto channels have been established between foreign 
terror handlers in India