Hamas-linked crypto accounts frozen by Israeli police, with Binance's help: Report

CoinDesk Analysis Team CoinDesk

Israeli police have frozen cryptocurrency accounts linked to Palestinian militant group Hamas, local media outlet Calcalist reported Tuesday, citing an official press statement.

A multi-pronged attack on Israel by Hamas over the weekend has broken into all-out war, with the former’s defense minister ordering a complete siege of the Palestinian enclave Gaza.

The cyber arm of Israel Police's Lahav 433 unit worked with the country’s defense ministry, intelligence agencies and crypto exchange Binance to target the accounts in question, according to the report. It added that any funds seized are destined for the Israeli national treasury.

A lawsuit filed against Binance’s CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao by the U.S. Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) in March alleged the firm’s officers knew of "HAMAS transactions" on the platform. Israeli authorities had previously seized around 190 Binance accounts with alleged links to terrorist groups since 2021.

CoinDesk has reached out to Binance for comment.

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CoinDesk Analysis Team

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