An Uzbek national has been referred to prosecutors under arrest on suspicion of financing a terrorist organization designated by the United Nations while staying in Korea without legal residency status, the Gwangju Police Agency said Wednesday.
The 33-year-old man, also wanted by Interpol, had been staying in Korea illegally for eight years, police said.
He is accused of transferring cryptocurrency worth 5.9 million won ($4,400) in three transactions between October and November 2023 to a charity allegedly used as a front for the international terrorist group Khatiba Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, or KTJ.
The man is also accused of paying 590,000 won for a plane ticket in December 2016 to help an Uzbek national in his home country join KTJ.
KTJ, which is based in Syria and comprises members from Central Asia, has been accused of involvement in a 2016 car bombing targeting the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan and a 2017 suicide bombing in St. Petersburg, Russia. The group is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
Police said they apprehended the man in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service and immigration authorities before referring him to the prosecution service under an arrest warrant.
Police said they would continue monitoring whether extremist Islamist followers in Korea were organizing into groups and investigate other suspicious transactions identified during the financial probe in cooperation with relevant agencies.
Under the Act on Prohibition Against the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the man could face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won. Under the Immigration Act, he could also face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com