Toronto man pleads guilty in Canada’s ‘largest terrorism financing scheme’

An RCMP patch is seen on the shoulder of a Surrey RCMP Officer in Charge on Friday, April 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A 36-year-old man has plead guilty to two charges in connection with Canada’s “largest terrorism financing scheme” in history, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

On Wednesday, the RCMP said Toronto resident Khalilullah Yousuf pleaded guilty to financing terrorist acts overseas by sending cryptocurrency and money transfers from September 2019 to December 2022.

As part of a plea deal, Yousuf admitted to raising $15,000 through GoFundMe and contributed $35,000 to several people in connection with Daesh, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“This is the largest terrorism financing conviction to date in Canada in terms of monetary value. This conviction is also the first successful terrorism financing conviction in Canada where the accused used cryptocurrency and the first where they used online crowdfunding,” the RCMP said in a release on Thursday.

The RCMP says Yousuf also plead guilty to participating in terrorist activities, admitting to disseminating more than 3,800 hyperlinks for the direct purpose of “radicalizing, indoctrinating and recruiting” on behalf of Daesh. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said he also created propaganda to justify terrorist attacks against foreign nationals located in Afghanistan.

From October 2020 and March 2021, officials said Yousuf spoke with an individual in the U.S., who was soon after convicted in that country for trying to provide some sort of material support to Daesh.

Yousuf has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, minus the time served in pre-trial custody. The PPSC says he will also be required to serve half of his time before being released on full parole.

Yousuf’s remaining charge was stayed as part of his guilty plea.

“At its core, terrorism is violence that seeks to justify itself. But the violence needs support by advocates, recruiters, and financiers as essential parts of the cycle of intimidation and destruction. The verdicts and sentences… represent how Canadian society in accordance with the rule of law, emphatically holds to account those who make the violence possible,” George Dolhai, director of public prosecutions for the PPSC, said in a release.

The RCMP credited various partners with Yousuf’s file, including international organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Spanish Guardia Civil Special Central Unit 2 and the Maldives Police Service.