Israeli officials have claimed that they took control of 190 accounts on the cryptocurrency platform Binance. They believe that these accounts belonged to people who are connected with terrorist groups like Daesh and Hamas.
According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, Israeli officials have taken control of around 190 accounts on Binance that they believe are linked to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Daesh since last year.
Newly released documents show that the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) in January took control of some cryptocurrency from two accounts that were believed to have links with Daesh, a terrorist group operating in Iraq and Syria. The records also reveal that since 2021, the government has accused more than 100 of the seized accounts on Binance of having connections to Hamas, an armed group from Palestine that has clashed with the Israeli military in the past.
The NBCTF, which is responsible for combating terrorist financing, stated on their website that the cryptocurrency seized from the accounts linked to Daesh was done to prevent the group from carrying out their activities and limit their capability to achieve their goals. However, they have not yet responded to CoinDesk’s request for further information on the matter.
According to Israeli law, the country’s defense minister has the authority to order the seizure of assets that are connected to terrorist groups. The Israeli ministry is responsible for identifying such assets.
Mistakes in preventing money laundering.
Last year, Binance faced criticism for its policies that allowed its users to bypass the exchange’s money laundering controls. According to a report by Reuters, since 2017, the exchange has processed over $10 billion in payments made by criminal organizations and other individuals who wanted to avoid U.S. sanctions.
Binance claims that it follows all regulatory requirements to prevent terrorists and other harmful groups from accessing its platform. The company also mentioned that it has to follow a lengthy process to confirm if an account is truly linked to criminal organizations.
Binance responded to the Reuters report, saying that individuals involved in criminal activities do not register their accounts using their criminal organizations’ names. Therefore, the company works with law enforcement agencies and uses information that is only accessible to them to identify those who operate accounts on behalf of illegal organizations.
Binance has a large compliance team with 700 members who handle 1,300 requests from law enforcement every week, according to Tigran Gambaryan, the company’s VP of Global Intelligence and Investigations. He shared this information during the Consensus 2023 event held in April.
The return of Daesh. resurgence
According to the Middle East Institute, Daesh has made a comeback in the southern part of Syria since last year.
In late 2014, the Daesh controlled a vast area of land spanning 100,000 to 110,000 square kilometers across Syria and Iraq. However, after being engaged in armed conflicts with American and other military forces, the group had to retreat, and the area under its control shrank to about 4,000 square kilometers. In 2019, Daesh surrendered its last base in Baghuz, Syria.
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