The U.S. seized over $200K in crypto linked to Hamas by way of wallets used for laundering $1.5M since October 2024.
Authorities say the funds have been collected by way of encrypted group chats and funneled by way of a number of crypto exchanges.
The FBI and DOJ proceed cracking down on crypto-financed terrorism, alongside comparable efforts by Israeli companies.
The U.S. Justice Division introduced Thursday it seized greater than $200,000 in cryptocurrency that it says was getting used to fund Hamas. Yeah—digital wallets, secret chats, crypto laundering—it’s all within the combine.
In line with the DOJ, they grabbed management of 1 pockets holding about $89,900, plus three different accounts full of a complete of $111,500 value of digital property. These wallets, officers declare, had already been used to maneuver greater than $1.5 million in crypto tied to Hamas exercise since October 2024.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 U.S. Justice Division has intercepted $200,000 in crypto linked to terrorist group ‘Hamas’
The funds have been traced again to digital wallets utilized in laundering over $1.5 million by way of platforms like Twister Money pic.twitter.com/5qdx7SKLcb
“We’ll search out each cent, in each type, wherever it’s hiding,” mentioned U.S. Lawyer Edward R. Martin Jr. in a press launch that dropped Thursday.
Crypto and Battle—Nonetheless Colliding
For over a decade now, militant teams and cybercriminals have leaned on crypto to sidestep conventional finance and slip previous worldwide enforcement. Privateness-focused blockchains, encrypted comms, international attain—it’s not onerous to see why.
However authorities aren’t simply watching anymore. They’re clamping down—onerous. And it’s clearly making life loads more durable for teams attempting to fund operations within the shadows.
Group Chats, Encrypted Apps, and Wallets In all places
The DOJ says the most recent crypto path began in a bunch chat, the place Hamas supporters allegedly shared donation directions utilizing an encrypted app. From there, not less than 17 wallets have been used to gather funds. Over-the-counter brokers and unnamed crypto exchanges reportedly helped transfer the cash round.
They didn’t identify the exchanges. No large shocker there.
The FBI’s Albuquerque subject workplace helped with the investigation. Yeah—New Mexico’s best, getting it achieved in our on-line world.
“Seizing crypto like this? Simply certainly one of many instruments in our counterterrorism playbook,” mentioned David J. Scott, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.
Not Only a U.S. Effort
It’s not simply the DOJ chasing these items down. Israeli counter-terror authorities, between 2021 and 2023, reportedly seized dozens of crypto accounts suspected of funding Hamas—and even a pair tied to ISIS, in line with Reuters.
