Binance allegedly facilitated Hamas — now it’s helping Israel seize its crypto
Israeli police announced today that they have frozen crypto accounts linked to Palestinian militant group Hamas with help from Binance — but the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has serious concerns that the crypto exchange has also aided Hamas and Iran.
An unprecedented attack on Israel occurred over the weekend, resulting in a declaration of war against Hamas. Israel Police’s cyber unit worked together with the ministry of defense, the Israel Security Agency, and other national intelligence agencies to seize the group’s potentially illicit funds, it announced in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
Israeli police also worked with Binance in order to seize the accounts. In a statement to CoinDesk, the crypto exchange said it had been working “around the clock” to help combat terror financing. However, the news has soured the crypto community given that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently sued Binance and its chief Changpeng Zhao for willfully evading compliance.
It claimed Binance “officers, employees, and agents” knew it was facilitating Hamas transactions — and even joked about it.
Read more: ‘Israeli FBI’ busts crypto scam allegedly run by top crime families
On X, crypto sleuths like Ben McKenzie were quick to point out Binance’s potential role in facilitating the potentially illegal financial activities of Hamas.
Any crypto funds seized by Israel police will go to the nation’s coffers, it announced. Around 190 Binance accounts with alleged ties to terrorist groups have already been seized by local authorities since 2021.
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