Key takeaways :
- Israeli authorities freeze cryptocurrency accounts tied to Hamas.
- Binance aids Israeli police in closing down Hamas-linked accounts.
Israel Freezes Hamas-Linked Crypto Accounts with Binance’s Assistance Amidst Conflict Concerns.
In a significant development, Israeli police have announced the freezing of cryptocurrency accounts associated with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, with assistance from the crypto exchange Binance.
This action comes amid growing concerns from the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about Binance’s alleged involvement with Hamas and Iran.
Over the weekend, Israel faced an unprecedented attack, leading to the declaration of war against Hamas. Israel Police’s cyber unit, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense, the Israel Security Agency, and other national intelligence agencies, has revealed its efforts to freeze potentially illicit funds linked to the group. This announcement was made through a statement on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
In their press release, the Police disclosed that Lahav 433’s cyber unit, working in conjunction with the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel (NBCTF) under the Ministry of Defense, the Shin Bet, and other intelligence agencies, actively pursued the identification of cryptocurrency infrastructure utilized by terrorist organizations for fundraising purposes.
As previously reported on October 10, local news outlet Calcalist revealed that Israeli officials, with the assistance of Binance, had frozen cryptocurrency accounts associated with Hamas. Law enforcement alleges that these accounts were used by terrorists to gather funds related to the ongoing conflict via social media channels.
Notably, in May 2023, Israeli authorities had taken action by terminating numerous cryptocurrency accounts on one of the largest digital currency platforms after identifying them as suspicious.
Israel’s actions led to the seizure of nearly 190 Binance accounts connected to terrorist organizations, highlighting the importance of stringent compliance measures and close collaboration between cryptocurrency exchanges and law enforcement agencies to prevent illicit activities.
The police statement emphasized that “With the outbreak of war, Hamas launched a fundraising campaign on social networks, asking the public to deposit cryptocurrencies into its account. The cyber unit acted immediately to locate and freeze the accounts, with the assistance of the Binance crypto exchange, in order to forfeit the funds to the state coffers.“
Israel’s recent actions to seize digital wallets allegedly used by Hamas are not isolated incidents. In March of the previous year, Israeli authorities similarly confiscated digital wallets reportedly employed by Hamas, effectively disrupting the terror group’s financial operations.
This move was approved by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, leading to the seizure of 30 bitcoin wallets across 12 accounts associated with a Gaza-based exchange company that has since been designated as a terror group by the Defense Ministry.
