A Russian citizen living in California has pleaded guilty to funneling tens of thousands of dollars into a “jihad” fundraiser supporting known terrorist organizations.
Murat Kurashev, 36, a Russian national living in Sacramento, pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Department of Justice announced. The FBI arrested Kurashev after a federal grand jury handed down a single-count indictment on February 18, 2021.
According to court documents, Kurashev attempted to provide financial support to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has been designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization conducting terrorist activities in Syria.
Kurashev is accused of using a money transfer service to send approximately $13,000 to two known couriers for HTS fundraisers between July 2020 and February 2021. Federal prosecutors said records obtained from the money transfer service showed multiple transactions from Kurashev to Turkish couriers, typically in denominations of $1,000.
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A Syrian fighter from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group loads a pickup-mounted rocket launcher before firing on Syrian government positions in northwestern Aleppo province on January 1, 2024. (Omar Haji Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)
Prosecutors said the couriers often collected the funds within 24 hours of sending them. The Justice Department said surveillance footage from the money transfer company showed Kurashev during some transactions. Prosecutors say Kurashev's social media and encrypted mobile message conversations with the fundraiser show that Kurashev was fully aware of the fundraiser's violent extremist ideology and its participation and activities on behalf of HTS. He said it was clear that he had done so.
Kurashev said he wished he could have joined the fighting in Syria as a mujahideen and regretted that he could only provide financial support. The conversation shows that Mr. Kurashev and his fundraisers believed that funding support for HTS fighters was “the same as engaging in violent jihad,” said Philip A. Talbert. the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A Syrian fighter from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group operates the remote control of a pickup-mounted rocket launcher that fires at Syrian government positions in northwestern Aleppo province on January 1, 2024. (Omar Haji Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)
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According to court documents, Kurashev tracked the online presence and various social media accounts of fundraisers, including collecting money to buy military equipment, boots, clothing, firearms and, in one case, a motorcycle. It also included solicitations. The Justice Department said a forensic analysis of Kurashev's Apple iCloud account showed it contained a large amount of violent extremist content, including videos depicting HTS fighters.
Mr. Kurashev is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on March 18, 2024. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A Syrian fighter from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group inspects a rocket launcher mounted on a pickup before firing on Syrian government positions in northwestern Aleppo province on January 1, 2024. (Omar Haji Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an American think tank based in Washington, DC, the HTS, or Levantine Liberation Structure, traces its origins to the beginning of the Syrian civil war. It remained a dangerous opposition force during the war.
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In May 2018, HTS was added to the State Department's existing foreign terrorist organization designation for its predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. The think tank says HTS retains a Salafi-jihadist ideology despite publicly splitting from al-Qaeda in 2017.
