The US Ministry of Justice seized 201,400 $ in cryptocurrency and a network of digital portfolios intended for the support of Hamas, the ministry’s public affairs office announced.
A encrypted group cat claiming the association with Hamas would have provided donors with a set of changes of at least 17 cryptocurrency addresses, with funds sent to a portfolio and laundered through a series of virtual currency exchanges and financier and brokers transactions, according to Thursday’s press release.
It was alleged that more than $ 1.5 million in cryptocurrency had been bleached for Hamas via this system since October.
An account worth $ 89,900 and three others totaling approximately $ 111,500 were seized in the survey led by the FBI Albuquerque on the field. The accounts were recorded on behalf of the Palestinians living in Türkiye and other places.
The deputy director of the FBI terrorism division, David J. Scott, said: “The disruption of the funding mechanisms and the seizure of Hamas cryptocurrencies is one of the many FBI tools that we use in the fight against terrorism.”
The special agent of the FBI Albuquerque in charge Raul Bujanda said that the disruption of the funds had weakened the capacity of the terrorist organization to operate.
Financial war is essential in the fight against terrorism
“This success demonstrates that financial war is an essential element in fighting terrorism,” said Bujanda. “We will continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people and pursue justice by depriving terrorist organizations from the resources they need to continue their illegal activity.”
The acting lawyer of the Columbia district, Edward Martin Jr., recalled in the press release that Hamas was responsible for the death of American and Israeli citizens, and that the chief of the national security division of justice, Sue Bai, promised that the government organization was determined to dismantle Hamas.
Hamas is not unrelated to the use of cryptocurrencies to bring back funds.
In 2023, Binance settled with the US Treasury Department, paying more than $ 4 billion for warning to prevent and report transactions to the Izzadin al-Qassam brigades in Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Binance was continued last February by October 7 victims of massacre for facilitating the financing of Hamas and the PIJ which they allege were then used in Pogrom 2023 in southern Israel.
An analysis of Coindesk in 2021 alleged that Hamas had received up to $ 100,000 in bitcoin during this year, before operation Guardian of the Walls.
