Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has been assisting Israeli law enforcement in freezing accounts and seizing funds associated with terrorist organizations, specifically the militant group Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. In June, Binance's partnership with Israel's Ministry of Defense helped seize $1.7 million worth of digital assets from accounts linked to Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.
A spokesperson for Binance stated that the company actively combats terror financing by working closely with law enforcement agencies globally, including those in Israel. The spokesperson emphasized that Binance has been working tirelessly to support Israel's efforts in cutting off Hamas's financing.
Collaborating with Israel's cyber unit, Binance and the unit have successfully frozen all accounts tied to Hamas and multiple accounts that were soliciting donations for the group. This joint effort aims to prevent terrorist organizations from using cryptocurrency to fund their operations.
Hamas has been attempting to raise funds through cryptocurrencies since 2019 when its al-Qassam Brigades urged supporters to send bitcoin via Telegram. However, after American and Israeli investigators were able to track donations on the blockchain, Hamas ceased publishing its wallet addresses.
In June, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) seized $1.7 million from digital asset accounts associated with Hezbollah and Quds. The head of NBCTF, Paul Landes, acknowledged the crucial role played by Binance and blockchain analytics company Chainalysis in freezing the funds. Landes emphasized that crypto companies are viewed as partners by NBCTF and expressed their eagerness to cooperate with law enforcement to ensure a "clean" industry.
Seizing Hezbollah's funds proved to be particularly challenging due to the group's connection with Quds, Iran's military intelligence group. The backing of state-backed organizations makes it more difficult to impose sanctions. While most terrorist financing is in the form of fiat currency, the funds seized were in the form of Tether, a USD-pegged stablecoin, which reflects criminals' efforts to use less volatile assets for their illicit activities.
