An alleged jihadist who sent more than 200,000 euros to Syria and Turkey in cryptocurrencies is arrested in Barcelona

Strike by the Civil Guard against the financing of international terrorism through cryptocurrencies.

Agents of the armed institute have arrested MADA, a 30-year-old computer engineer of Jordanian origin and a Spanish passport, in Barcelona for his alleged involvement in a plot that supposedly sent funds to the Islamic State (ISIS) through the transfer of virtual currencies, as reported this Wednesday by the Ministry of the Interior.

The arrest occurred on Thursday in the Catalan capital, where the suspect frequently traveled from Turkey taking advantage of his status as a commercial agent for several companies, according to sources close to the investigation.

Those responsible for the investigations attribute to the detainee a “prominent role” as a fundraiser and facilitator of funds for the terrorist organization and credit him with sending at least 200,000 euros to Syria and Turkey through three virtual wallets that he managed.

The National Court has ordered his entry into provisional prison.

The investigation into MADA began after agents of the armed institute's Information Service who track cryptocurrency movements detected suspicious transfers and movements of money linked to it.

The investigations indicate that the arrested person was allegedly part of a broad international network of financing jihadist terrorism "with a great impact in the form of large economic movements" and for which France had already convicted several people in absentia.

That network extends its tentacles to other countries, such as Sweden.

In fact, the French Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), the US FBI, the Swedish security police (Säpo) and Europol, the EU police agency, participated in the investigation that led to Barcelona's arrest;

in addition to the National Intelligence Center (CNI).

In fact, there are investigations opened into this plot in other countries.

According to the investigations, the money was raised by ISIS through campaigns carried out through its profiles on the instant messaging application Telegram.

This money subsequently entered a circuit of simulated economic operations whose ultimate objective was to make tracing difficult and ultimately end up in the coffers of the terrorist group.

It is in these financial movements where the now detained man allegedly participated through several cryptocurrency addresses that operated in at least three different virtual money networks.

At the time of his arrest, the Civil Guard seized different electronic devices that are being analyzed.

In its note, Interior highlights that the use of cryptocurrencies by jihadist terrorism began at the beginning of the last decade, “having increased its intensity since then and, especially, after the covid-19 pandemic” to overcome the difficulties that Mobility limitations led to the confinement measures adopted by numerous countries.

“These current sophisticated means of financing promoted by fully specialized crypto-jihadists severely complicate the investigations of the security services,” adds Interior.

It is in this role that the Civil Guard places MADA, highlighting its profile that is far from that drawn by the alleged jihadists detained in Spain.

“His origin, Jordanian, is not common and, in addition, he had a high degree of training in computer science and experience in economic transactions that is not usually found among those detained in other operations,” sources close to the investigations highlight.

His professional commercial activity allowed him to move frequently between Turkey and Barcelona (where he usually stayed in hotels) without raising suspicions.

The operation that led to his arrest is not, however, the first that has been carried out in Spain against the financing of jihadist terrorism.

In June 2019, a dozen people were arrested as alleged members of a plot that supposedly sent funds from Madrid to Al Qaeda in Syria through various mechanisms.

More recently, in February 2022, three people were arrested, including a woman, in a device deployed in Barcelona, ​​Girona and Valencia.

The three people involved were then charged with an alleged crime of financing terrorism through a complex business network with international connections that would have allowed them to send money to ISIS terrorist fighters in Libya.

The group was also credited with paying for medical treatment in private clinics in the Catalan capital for alleged wounded jihadists.

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