Carried out this Tuesday in the greatest discretion, no less than 360 men from the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) and the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) dismantled a vast network of terrorist financing for the benefit of French jihadists still settled in Syria.
With the support of ten RAID teams, mobilized to carry out 55 searches in 26 departments, the police placed 29 suspects in police custody.
This crackdown, one of the most important ever, was carried out under the authority of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) which, in a press release released Tuesday afternoon, reveals to have uncovered a
"sophisticated circuit of transfers of funds to French jihadists still present in Syria
”.
The modus operandi, unveiled by the specialized magistrates, says a lot about the technicality implemented by the Islamists and the extent of their logistical support established on French soil.
“Active since 2019, the terrorist financing network is based mainly on the purchase, in France, of cryptocurrency coupons whose references were transmitted by secure messaging to jihadists present in Syria, then credited on platforms of bitcoins "
, describes the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office, which reveals that
" several dozen people residing in France have repeatedly visited tobacco shops throughout the country to anonymously buy coupons in recent months. 'a value between 10 and 150 euros. "
Two "kingpins" identified in Syria
These coupons, according to the same source, were then
"credited to accounts opened from abroad by jihadists who were in charge of converting them into crypto-currencies on platforms for purchasing bitcoins".
Aged 22 to 66, the suspects interviewed by the specialized services would have, for the most part, injected funds into the network for the benefit of relatives in Syria.
Among the beneficiaries, the investigators targeted two in particular.
They are Mesut S. and Walid F., both 25 years old.
Based in northwestern Syria, they would have
"played the role of linchpins of the cyber-financing system, by providing logistical support for its operation from France".
Having joined the combat zones in Syria in 2013, these two jihadists are suspected of being members of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, affiliated with al-Qaida.
The latter are targeted by an arrest warrant following a first sentence of 10 years imprisonment, pronounced on April 10, 2016, in their absence, by the Paris Criminal Court.
Dirty money for Al Qaida and the Islamic State
The national anti-terrorist prosecution estimates that
"several hundred thousand euros would have benefited members of al-Qaida still in hiding in northwestern Syria, but also jihadists from the Islamic state group".
Thoroughly prepared, the operation is part of a preliminary investigation opened on January 24, 2020 for terrorist financing and criminal terrorist association, following the detection by Tracfin, the Bercy service that tracks dirty money .
According to these experts, this case marks a change in the financing of terrorism:
“Since 2013, the sending of cash money orders to collectors located in countries bordering on Syria was the main vector for transferring funds to jihadists,
described. we at PNAT.
The constant monitoring of these networks has led terrorist organizations to seek more opacity through the use of bitcoin-type cryptocurrencies. ”
The net is all the more complex as
"no identification is legally required when buying these cryptocurrency coupons in tobacco shops"
.
This constitutes a real "blind spot" in which all the French sympathizers of radical Islam have entered.
