A man accused of running a financial support network out of Brooklyn that raised airfare for would-be terrorists was arrested more than a decade after he fled the country, officials said Thursday.
Davud Ansariy, 41, was extradited to the U.S. following his capture last month in Tbilisi, Georgia. He fled the country on a flight to Turkey in May 2016, five days after a co-conspirator was arrested for the scheme to fund terrorism abroad, according to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella.
“More than a decade ago, the defendant fled the United States in an effort to evade justice for his extremely serious crimes,” Nocella said. “The defendant facilitated an expansive network that sought to finance the travel of foreign fighters to wage violent jihad.”
“Ansariy will now face justice for his actions in a United States courtroom.”
Ansariy led a group of radicals called “chayxona,” an Uzbek word that translates to “tea house” or “tea party.” Based in Brooklyn, the group raised money to support the families of men who fought for ISIS and Al-Nusrah Front, in addition to funding the travel of at least three individuals, who were killed fighting for terrorist groups in Syria, prosecutors said.
Among Ansari’s beneficiaries was Akhror Saidakhmetov, who was provided “tea party” money to travel from Brooklyn to Istanbul, Turkey, to “wage violent jihad,” court documents show. He was arrested while trying to board a flight at JFK on Feb. 25, 2015, and various co-conspirators were arrested and charged in the following months, prosecutors said.
Ansariy departed the country with a one-way ticket to Turkey just five days after a co-conspirator was arrested on May 11, 2016, officials said.
Ansariy is charged with conspiring to and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.