South Korea arrests four Uzbeks suspected of funding a Syrian terrorist organization with USDT.

According to Decrypt, South Korea's Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency arrested four Uzbek citizens on charges of "terrorist financing," one of whom appears on the Interpol Red Notice list. The principal suspect is accused of, between August 2024 and April 2025, sending a total of 4,267 USDT via seven transfers to the UN-designated terrorist organization Katibat Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), while simultaneously receiving cryptocurrency from KTJ to purchase 11 used cars and 2 excavators (totaling approximately 170,000 Korean won, equivalent to roughly $121,000) for shipment to Syria. Police stated that this case marks South Korea's first involving the receipt of crypto funds from a terrorist organization and their return in the form of physical goods.