Terrorist Accounts Suspension
Amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, Israeli police cyber unit Lahav 433 has taken action to freeze several cryptocurrency accounts associated with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Working in collaboration with the National Headquarters for Economic Combating Terrorism (MTL), Shin Bet, and various intelligence agencies, Israeli authorities identified financial infrastructures allegedly used by Hamas for fundraising.
These authorities suspended Binance accounts suspected of accepting donations as part of a fundraising campaign conducted on social media platforms. The frozen assets will be transferred to the Israeli state treasury, and the country’s defense forces will continue to combat terrorism financing and protect strategic financial assets from terrorist organizations.
In 2021, Israeli authorities previously seized 190 Hamas-linked accounts on Binance, which raised concerns about the exchange’s potential involvement in money laundering.
Concerns over Binance’s Role in Terrorist Transactions
In April, the U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance, revealing that the exchange had received information about transactions by terrorist organizations, including Hamas. The lawsuit included a statement from Binance compliance officer Samuel Lim discussing “Hamas transactions” and the fact that terrorists typically send small sums to avoid suspicion of money laundering.
Binance denied these allegations and filed a countermotion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the commission.
Hot Take: Israel Freezes Cryptocurrency Accounts Tied to Hamas
The Israeli police cyber unit Lahav 433 has taken decisive action against Hamas by freezing cryptocurrency accounts associated with the Palestinian militant group. By collaborating with various intelligence agencies and suspending Binance accounts suspected of accepting donations for Hamas fundraising campaigns, Israeli authorities are actively combating terrorism financing. This move follows previous seizures of Hamas-linked accounts on Binance, raising concerns about the exchange’s role in facilitating money laundering. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine has further highlighted the importance of monitoring and addressing potential illicit financial activities tied to terrorist organizations.
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