1. Summary: Having been heavily focused on the war in Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies have made an unexpected find: Hussain Tlesh. Hussian Tlesh is a Libyan Islamist who manages a Ponzi scheme out of the Ukraine with his two sons. The proceeds from this “venture” are used to finance terrorism in Libya at the grassroots level. Tlesh is a retired USSR-trained fighter pilot. Intelligent, calculating, organized and very secretive his hidden low approach to live has helped him and his sons fly under the radar. Tlesh is helped most by his connections with the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government of Western Libya. A native of Tripoli, Tlesh sustains connections with known members of the Islamic State terror group, which has gone into hibernation in Libya but remains dangerous and enjoys extensive support across Western Libya. Tlesh uses his position as Executive Director of the Al Ahli Club soccer team as cover for his financial operations, including providing money to terrorists in the forms of “Assistance” and “grants”. He also has been serving as a cash handler for radical Islamists in Libya thanks to his Club travels. Thanks to the war in Ukraine, Tlesh and his sons surfaced on the radar screens of several security US and European agencies, as well as the Ukrainian military intelligence. Additionally, because of his “business”, both his sons who also reside in the Ukraine, are under very heavy surveillance by their counterterrorism bodies. The significance of this case is this: Tlesh represents a textbook case of “terrorist evolution”, the evolution of terrorists who have become accustomed to settling for small, consistent successes rather than major yet short-lived achievements.
2. JaFaJ has confirmed that Libyan national Hussian Tlesh is an active financier of small time terrorists and radicals. JaFaJ sources added that “Tlesh has surfaced lately on the radar screen of two different Western security agencies, and has connections to Ukraine where two of his children reside.” The source added that Tlesh came to the attention of Western Intelligence Agencies shortly after the war in Ukraine began thanks to the actions of his son Mahmoud Tlesh. Mahmoud was spotted making, receiving and distributing large sums of money in what can only be considered “shady transactions”. The ongoing surveillance of Mahmoud has led to counterterrorism agencies focusing in on his father, Hussian.
3. In his early 60s, Hussian Tlesh is a native of Tripoli and is publically known to be very close to the Muslim Brotherhood led government of Western Libya. His position as “Senior Administrator” of the popular soccer team, Al Ahli Club, has fortified his image as a community figure and allowed him access to several Libyan officials, including the Libyan Sports Minister, Abdul Shafee Al Juaifi. [COMMENT: Since the toppling of Qaddafi, Libya has been split between two governments, the Muslim Brotherhood Wefaq Government which controls Western Libya and the moderate Khalifa Haftar Government which controls most of Eastern Libya with Benghazi as its capital. All of the Wefaq’s top officials are Muslim Brotherhood members and many have had open ties to the Islamic State in Libya. END COMMENT]
4. A former Russian Mig 25 fighter pilot, Hussian Tlesh received his training in the 1980s in the former Soviet Union. Disciplined, calculating and a steadfast organizer, Hussain is known to effectively “fly under the radar”, despite his popular position as leader of a popular soccer team. As such, he maintains a low profile and operates his financial connections with terrorists without fanfare or noise. Recent communications surveillance has shown him to be very discreet when using his phone and online communications, especially when he speaks to Mahmud, who resides in Kyiv.
5. An Islamist radical in ideology, Hussain Tlesh is not reluctant to breach radical views within the ranks of players and administrators of the Al Ahli Club. According to inside sources, Tlesh is known to have facilitated the hiring of a former Islamic State jihadist within the club, and openly brags to his subordinates and players about Jihad and his network of grassroots terrorists who are loyal to him.
A Low Roller, A High Achiever
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6. According to JaFaJ sources, Hussian Tlesh never deals in massive money transactions. The largest amount of money he has received from abroad was USD $28,000. Careful to remain untouchable, he receives smaller amounts of money through multiple transactions, transactions that are laundered through various questionable ventures. To increase his profits while hiding more money, he uses his cover as the Senior Al Ahli Club Executive to travel to multiple countries, sometimes more than once a month. JaFaJ sources have confirmed that surveillance of the subject shows that two of the trips he made in 2022, were to collect money from Islamists and suspected Jihadists. He then brought the money back to Libya where he delivered it to known Islamists, including what the intelligence sources have described as “Active Islamic State members who have been recently relocated to Tripoli after having been released from the jails of Haftar government”.
7. Describing the rather humble amounts of money Hussian Tlesh has been funnelling to Libya’s radical elements is very dangerous. A Western intelligence source who is involved in counterterror financing in North Africa has confirmed to JaFaJ that “Terrorism is a cheap crime, a few thousand dollars worth of TNT could kill 100 people, therefore we cannot overlook any amount of money trickling down into the hands of terrorists”. When asked about Hussian Tlesh, the source responded, “He and others are on our radar screen”.
8. A Libyan intelligence source from the Haftar led government reported to JaFaJ “We can’t take people like Hussain Tlesh lightly, the Wefaq Government is ISIS [the Islamic State] with make up on its face”. The source added, “Terrorists like Tlesh bring money to the small terrorists, and this helps keep sleeper cells keep alive”.
9. The Libyan source noted that “His position as a leader of a sports team gives him some kind of protection. And if we call him out, the Muslim Brotherhood will make fun of us and call us paranoid. Nonetheless, we’re looking closely at him because he cooperates with questionable Arab agencies. The source concluded that “he is not the only financier of terrorism in the Wefaq government – remember the entire government there is Muslim Brotherhood”.
The Tlesh Terror Money Factory
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10. JaFaJ sources have confirmed that the flow of Hussian Tlesh’s terror money starts in Ukraine, with his son Mahmoud. A Libyan national who resides in Kyiv, told JaFaJ that Mahmoud runs an extensive Ponzi scheme, and that the scheme generates upwards of USD $30,000 a month. To do so, Mahmoud facilitates this scheme by targeting Arab victims over social media, and does so by begging them to help his wife, a Ukrainian Muslim convert named Hayat Tlesh. Using several fake names and shell companies to hide the money and themselves, the couple operates from a flat near Independence Square on Khreshchatyk Street in Kyiv. They reside there with their three children Amina, Larin and Adam. The said property’s location coordinates: 50.45000° N, 30.52361° E. One of Mahmoud Tlesh’s sales pitches to his victim revolves around his unique way of using cryptocurrency, and on occasion, baits his hook by giving prospects with small amounts of money to sweeten the deal. He primarily uses a specific ATM to make transfers and receive money, located at Buybank.io, Exchange Bitcoin in Antonovycha St, 45, Kyiv, Ukraine, 02000.
11. To perfect his Ponzi scheme, he sustains extensive outreach to Arabs residing in Europe, with a focus on Germany and the United Kingdom. For this, he uses the Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/tlesh.tlesh and an Instagram account, https://instagram.com/papa_mahmoud?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= . He also uses a British issued burner phone, with the number +44 7724 690010, and keeps his communications strictly to WhatsApp.
12. According to JaFaJ sources, Mahmoud Tlesh has enlisted the help of his 25-year-old brother, Mohaned Tlesh. Mohaned also resides in Ukraine, yet makes regular trips to Dusseldorf, Germany driving a Hyundai Elantra with the Ukrainian licence plate AA5341KM. In Germany, he deposits his illegally obtained money. Mohaned also uses his social media accounts to recruit victims of the Ponzi scheme. These are Facebook accounts https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003341269283
and Instagram account https://instagram.com/mohaned_tlesh?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
13. Despite their illegal money making schemes, both of Hussian Tlesh’s children harbor very radical views about Libya, Islam, and non-Muslims. Recent surveillance has shown the younger brother to be openly supportive of the Islamic State. He has made claims to fellow Arabs in Ukraine that Libya was “much better off when it was under the Daesh [Islamic State] ruler”.
14. Both men have sustained a good quality of life for themselves while at the same time wiring substantial money to their father in Tripoli. The father has used the money to finance terror fighters who are not employable because of their connections to the Islamic State in Libya. He has provided money to Libyans connected to terrorism, some known to have directly engaged in battles against the Benghazi based Libyan Government. Tlesh has also used some of the money to finance events for radical preachers in Libya which he uses to target young people.
The Big Boys Are Watching
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15. Several American and European counter-terrorism bodies know of Hussian Tlesh’s terror financing activities. JaFaJ has confirmed that the EU S Department of Treasury, Federal Bureau of Investigations, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the US Defence Intelligence Agency are already aware of this individual, and further measures are in the works against Hussian Tlesh. They include barring entry into 2 Arab countries including Egypt which he has entered under the cover of the soccer team he manages. Additionally, further measures are already in place to monitor both his sons with potential prosecution in the works.
Conclusion
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16. Hussian Tlesh is a textbook case of the terrorist evolution. Evidence clearly suggests that terrorists in general (and terror financing in particular), have adapted to the stricter post 9-11 world. This “evolution” is exhibited in Mr. Tlesh’s operations, operations that fly under the radar, which focus on small and consistent transactions that are made with humility rather than a mother of all successes like previous orthodox tourists do. Additionally, instead of having a head on collision with the government where he lives, he operates within the government hierarchy. What helps him (and those like him), is the fact that many Islamist governments have been empowered over the past two decades. Examples of this are found in Libya, Iraq, Jordan and Yemen, and not from more traditional countries like Germany and Belgium. In other words, the Tlesh’s avoid strict regulations found in those countries by utilising the Internet. This by itself is an exhibit of how the internet has brought down barriers and neutralized the significance of borders.
17. As you read this, terror financier Tlesh is scamming individuals in France for money that he eventually to Libya where it is used to support the Islamic State. At the same time, he targets Arabs and Muslims residing in Europe with his Ponzi scheme, making them co-financiers of terror without even realizing it.
18. Instead of going big and going in a bang, new age terrorists like Tlesh seek to secure consistency and avoid being hunted down by much stronger adversaries like the United States. While the terrorists have evolved, counterterrorism bodies across the world have failed to catch up, and that’s because they have been outsmarted by terrorists while they are still playing by the old rules.