Israel seized crypto accounts linked to ISIS and Hamas
Israel has seized around 190 crypto accounts at crypto exchange Binance since 2021, including two it said were linked to Islamic State (ISIS) and dozens of others it said were owned by Palestinian Arab firms connected to Hamas, Reuters reported Thursday, citing documents released by the country’s counter-terror authorities.
Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) on January 12 confiscated two Binance accounts and their contents, one of the documents showed. The seizure was to “thwart the activity” of Islamic State and “impair its ability to further its goals,” the NBCTF said on its website.
The NBCTF document, which has not been previously reported, did not give any details on the value of the crypto seized, nor how the accounts were connected to ISIS.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volumes, did not respond to Reuters’ calls and emails seeking comment.
The Defense Ministry, which is responsible for the NBCTF, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Under Israeli law, the Defense Minister can order the seizure and confiscation of assets that the ministry deems related to terrorism.
In 2021, then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order for the seizure of cryptocurrencies in the amount of 2.6 million shekels from the al-Mathaddon exchange company which was linked to Hamas in Gaza.
Several months later, Gantz signed a similar a seizure order for cryptocurrency amounting to tens of thousands of shekels from 12 digital accounts.
Last week, Reuters reported that the armed wing of the Hamas terrorist group, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, stopped receiving fundraising via the cryptocurrency bitcoin, a method it has used for years, citing an increase in “hostile” activity against donors.
Thursday’s report noted that regulators globally have long called for tighter controls on crypto exchanges to prevent illegal activities, from money laundering to the financing of terrorism. The seizures by Israel’s NBCTF highlight how governments are targeting crypto companies in their efforts to prevent illegal activity.
According to the report, nearly all of the 189 Binance accounts seized by Israel since Dec. 2021 were owned by three Palestinian Arab currency exchange firms, the NBCTF documents showed.
The three are designated by Israel as “terrorist organizations,” according to a list on the NBCTF’s website, for their alleged involvement in the transfer of funds by Hamas.
Binance did not respond to Reuters’ questions on the accounts owned by the three currency exchange companies.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the group does not have any connection with the money exchange companies, adding that the allegations of links to the companies were an attempt by Israel to “justify its economic war against Gaza and its people.”
Source: israelnationalnews
