In Canada, Prosecuting Funders of Islamist Terrorism -- While the Liberal Government Funds Terrorism-Enablers

On May 12, 2025, at the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, Khalilullah Yousuf (36), of Toronto plead guilty to two charges relating to the largest terrorism financing scheme in Canadian history.

Between September 2019 and December 2022, Mr. Yousuf used cryptocurrency and money transfers to fund terrorism overseas. Yesterday, in an agreed upon statement of facts, Mr. Yousuf admitted to the financing of terrorism, contrary to section 83.03 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

"As part of the plea agreement, Khalilullah Yousuf has admitted to raising over $15,000 through the platform "GoFundMe" and contributing over $35,000 to multiple receivers for the benefit of Daesh, a listed terrorist organization."

"Regarding the second charge, Mr. Yousuf has plead guilty to participating in the activities of a terrorist group, contrary to section 83.18 of the Criminal Code of Canada. He has admitted to creating and distributing a collection of over 3,800 internet-based hyperlinks. These links were curated with the purpose of radicalizing, indoctrinating and recruiting for the benefit of Daesh, a listed terrorist organization. Between October 2020, and March 2021, Mr. Yousuf communicated with an individual in the United States who was later convicted there for attempting to provide material support to the same listed terrorist organization."

"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 crypto currency and the first where they used online crowdfunding."

"The success of this RCMP-led project would not be possible without the contributions of the following Canadian partnerships: RCMP Federal Policing Central Region (Ontario) The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Forensic Accounting Management Group (FAMG), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG), and the Toronto Police Service (TPS)."

"The RCMP would also like to recognize and thank our international partners that were instrumental in this file: The Spanish Guardia Civil Special Central Unit 2, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Maldives Police Service."

Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 15 May 2025 report 

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

"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 public prosecutions, Public Prosecution Service of Canada

 A 12-year prison sentence was handed down to a man, now 36 years of age, who has Canadian citizenship and was a resident of Toronto. Khalilullah Yousuf pleaded guilty to involvement and taking part in financing a terrorist group named as the Islamic State. He admitted to crowdfunding on such sites as GoFundMe on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and for Muslim religious events, all the while collecting the funding by Canadian contributors to send what he collected to ISIS group supporters in the United States, Spain and other countries.

 

He had applied for, and received pandemic COVID Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) and contributed that money too that he received from the government of Canada under false pretenses. Supporters, on receiving the tens of thousands he provided for ISIS benefit, forwarded to him as proof ISIS was receiving the funding, photographs of weapons and ammunition provided by the funding, along with an ISIS flag.

 

Crowdfunding, or raising money from several investors over the Internet, has made websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter popular. Photo: Karissa Donkin/Telegraph-Journal

 

This man and his schemes do not represent the rare and only incidents of funding collected in Canada by groups and individuals portraying themselves as legitimate charities whose only concern is raising funds for charitable programs to benefit Palestinians or other so-called marginalized groups, or civilian groups caught up in conflict in the Middle East, sending funding collected in actual fact, to the very terrorist militias that cause sectarian, tribal and anti-Western, along with anti-Israel war situations. There are a multitude of such groups masquerading as humanitarian while financially supporting Islamist terror groups.

 

In this instance, Khalilullah Yousuf, who was closely embroiled in an international ISIS funding network, communicated with the group through encrypted messages online, while taking part in recruitment and creating propaganda while providing methodology to supporters on how to mount successful attacks on behalf of violent Islamist culture. A two-year investigation on this man's activities involved intelligence forces in Canada, the U.S. and Spain, leading to an arrest in July of 2023. 

 

Cryptocurrency, increasingly being used for funding terrorism, may have signalled to authorities that there was something to investigate there. Samidoun, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hezbollah and Hamas, have all received funding through Canadian sources that have successfully exploited the Canadian public to fund terrorism both abroad and internally.

 

Popular fundraising sites encourage crowdfunding in various and mostly specific categories that include patient medical needs, support of school teams, raising funds for Palestinian children, with sky-high funding goals. And while the platforms emphasize their trust that users will collect funds only for the stated reasons and not resort to illegally collecting funding in support of proscribed terror groups, any kind of actual policing of the results is not followed as being unfeasible.  

The Government of Canada itself sends mixed messages on the funding of terrorism; on the one hand decrying terrorism, and on the other continuing to fund it with taxpayer money. As with the Liberal government overturning the previous Conservative government's cutting off of UNRWA funding in recognition of its complicity in Palestinian terrorism where UNRWA-run school curricula teach Palestinian children to hate Jews and to visualize themselves as future martyrs in the 'struggle' against Israel.

 

Proven reports that UNRWA staff were actively involved in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel, and that almost two hundred were, while on UNRWA staff, also Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives. UNRWA teachers glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis and incite to antisemitism among their Palestinian pupils, modelling them in the vision of Hamas. Despite all of this, known and yet excused, the Liberal government continues its funding of UNRWA.

 

Photo sent by ISIS facilitator to show donated funds were going to fighters. U.S. Department of Justice