A Sydney girl, 16, will face court on terror financing charges which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years’ jail. She is accused of sending thousands of dollars to the so-called Islamic State group in Syria through a Western Union money transfer, reports say. The girl and a male accomplice, 20, who allegedly gave her the money were arrested in raids on Tuesday.
The pair allegedly met in a park on Tuesday to discuss a plan to send money to Syria that day, reports said. They had reportedly developed a “sophisticated facilitation path” of wiring funds and had competed successful transfers before. The man, named by media as Milad Atai, was also arrested during Australia’s biggest counter-terror raids in September 2014.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said the man was still under investigation over the death of police accountant Curtis Cheng, who was gunned down by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar. Police have reiterated concerns over extremists targeting young Australians. “[It is] disturbing that we continue to deal with teenage children in this environment,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters on Tuesday.
