Israeli authorities have seized just under 200 accounts on cryptocurrency exchange Binance due to affiliations with Palestinian Hamas and Islamic State. Binance responded to Reuters, which broke the story, saying the fight against money laundering and terrorism remains one of its priorities.
Israel seizes nearly 200 Binance accounts
According to recently published documents, Israeli counter-terrorism authorities have seized around 190 accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a significant portion of which are believed to be linked to Daesh or the Palestinian Hamas.
As shown in the image below, Israel’s National Bureau for Combating the Financing of Terrorism (NBCTF) confiscated 2 Binance accounts on 12 January under the country’s anti-terrorism law.
As stated, the move is aimed at “thwarting the activity of the Islamic State (ISIS) and compromising its ability to pursue its objectives”.
Capture of the court document issued by the Israeli Defence Minister
However, these documents do not specify how much cryptocurrency is involved and how the various accounts are affiliated to Islamic State or Hamas. Last year, a US Treasury report indicated that the Daesh group had received cryptocurrency donations and had the ability to exchange them for cash through certain exchanges.
Interviewed by Reuters, Hamas spokesman Hassem Qazem said Israel’s allegations about the seized accounts were an attempt to “justify its economic war against Gaza and its people”.
Binance’s response
According to the Reuters article, which first published the information, Binance did not respond to the news agency’s requests for comment prior to publication. However, the cryptocurrency exchange run by Changpeng Zhao issued a statement in response to the article after it was published.
According to the statement, Binance has strict regulations concerning risks relating to money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as a team of “specialists who have devoted their entire careers to the fight against terrorism”.
The platform also asserts that it works closely with the international authorities in matters of this kind.
With regard to the specific organisations mentioned in the article, it is important to point out that bad actors do not register accounts in the name of their criminal enterprises. That’s why our team works with law enforcement and leverages information only they have to identify individuals who manage accounts for illicit organisations. “
Finally, Binance points out that blockchain is an unfavourable terrain for money laundering, as transactions can all be traced:
“The immutable and public nature of blockchain makes cryptocurrency a poor choice for money laundering, as it allows law enforcement to discover and trace money laundering much more easily than cash transactions. It’s simply impossible to transfer large sums of money into cryptocurrency without people noticing.”
