Israel Seizes Crypto Accounts It Claims Belong to Hamas, ISIS

The Israeli government is cracking down on crypto accounts it deems suspicious, shutting down dozens on one of the largest digital currency platforms.

Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) has seized around 190 accounts on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, over alleged ties to the Palestinian organization Hamas, according to a report by Reuters based on documents released by the country’s anti-terrorist authorities. Israel also claimed that two of the accounts belonged to the extremist group ISIS.

Israeli authorities recently announced that they have seized over half a million Israeli shekels in digital currencies from accounts they claim fall under “currency exchange companies serving Hamas.” Under Israeli law, the ministry has the right to seize and confiscate property it believes may be linked to terrorist activity.

One of Documents states that the Israeli Foreign Ministry deemed this necessary to “thwart the activities of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) and hamper its ability to achieve its goals.”

Crypto firm Binance responded to Reuters’ report, claiming that the news organization “omits critical facts to fit into its narrative.” In his opinion, Binance claimed to have worked closely with the anti-terrorist authorities to aid their investigation and seize the allegedly suspicious accounts. The company also stated that its policies comply with “anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements.”

Binance does not wish to be associated with the groups mentioned in the Reuters report, clarifying that “bad actors do not register accounts under the names of their criminal companies.” Therefore, the company would not have known who owned the accounts.

The Cryptocurrency platform came under fire recently after being sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for alleged price trading rules.