Davud Ansari (Kozimjon Gafurov), an Uzbekistan-born U.S. citizen, was extradited to the United States from Tbilisi, Georgia, on September 23, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. He faces charges of providing material support to terrorist organizations and criminal conspiracy.
The Choyxona network and its financing
According to court documents, Ansari led a radical group based in Brooklyn, New York, that financed volunteers planning to travel to Syria to fight alongside ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.
Members of the group referred to their network as "Choyxona" — Uzbek for "teahouse." The network raised money to support the families of fighters who had traveled to Syria, as well as those who had been killed there. Prosecutors say the group financed at least three individuals' trips to Syria in 2013, all of whom are believed to have died there.
In May 2016, five days after one of his associates was arrested, Ansari bought a one-way ticket and fled to Turkey, where he remained a fugitive for years. A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted him in November 2021.
He was arrested in Tbilisi in August 2026 and brought to the United States on September 23. He is expected to be arraigned on the charges at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
If convicted, Ansari could face up to 35 years in prison. The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Georgia's prosecutor's office and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs also played a key role in his arrest and extradition.
ISIS has been designated a terrorist organization by numerous countries and international bodies around the world.
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