Father Sentenced in Uzbekistan for Crypto Transfers to Son in Terrorist Group

A court in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, has sentenced a man to over ten years in prison for financing terrorism by sending cryptocurrency to his son, who is a member of a banned terrorist organization in Syria.

The case involves a family network engaged in funding international terrorism. According to the investigation, the son, born in 1999, joined the proscribed group "Tawhid and Jihad Katibasi" on Syrian territory back in 2019. He participated in combat operations and later used social media to organize fundraising under various pretexts to support terrorist activities.

From 2021 through 2025, the individual recruited other Uzbek citizens into this scheme, utilizing the internet and cryptocurrency to collect significant sums of money. Criminal cases have been initiated against eight people who transferred funds at his direction under Article 155³ of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code ("Financing of Terrorism").

The man's father, born in 1965, was also drawn into the criminal activity. From 2022 until 2025, he followed his son's instructions and transferred a total of 13,597 USDT (Tether) using the international cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The father had a prior conviction; he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 for distributing extremist materials but was later released on parole.

The Bukhara City Court found the father guilty under Part 2 "a" of Article 155³ and Part 2 "a" of Article 278⁸ of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to ten years and two months' imprisonment. His son has been declared wanted on charges under Articles 244¹, 244², 155², and 155³. Operational search measures are ongoing to locate and apprehend him.