The Israeli government dealt a major blow to the fight against terrorist financing by seizing nearly 190 Binance accounts held by suspected terrorist groups, including the Islamic State and Hamas. Conducted by Israel’s counterterrorism agency in 2021, the operation garnered attention despite Binance’s denial. However, the platform reiterated its commitment to fighting terrorism with international authorities.
Islamic State and Hamas reportedly use Binance..
Binance is being investigated in Israel. According to a report of Reuters on Thursday, May 4, Israel’s National Bureau for Combating Terrorist Financing (NBCTF) seized nearly 190 Binance accounts associated with terrorist groups. Of these accounts, two are believed to be linked to the Islamic State, while several others are believed to be held by Palestinian affiliates at Hamas. The Israeli counterterrorism agency conducted this seizure in 2021 with the aim of harming the Islamic State and undermining its goals.
A Palestinian 28 years old man named Osama Abuobayda, has been identified as the owner of two accounts linked to the Islamic State. The remaining accounts are held by three Palestinian exchange companies, including Al Mutahadun For Exchange, Dubai Company for Exchange and Al Wefaq. However, the documents consulted by Reuters did not provide details on how these accounts Binance were linked to the Islamic State.
Binance, exchange work with international counterterrorism authorities
Following the allegations, Binance denied and reaffirmed its commitment to work with international authorities to identify users operating accounts for illicit activities.
With respect to the specific organizations mentioned in the article, it is important to clarify that bad actors do not register accounts under the names of their criminal enterprises.
From Binance’s statement
The platform has also announced that it helped freeze more than $1 billion this year and that nearly half of its compliance team is involved in sanctions monitoring, name screening, know-your-customer (KYC) integration and on-chain monitoring.
The involvement of Binance in these illegal activities has not yet been proven, but this case highlights the importance of cooperation between exchange platforms and law enforcement to effectively combat terrorist financing. Thanks to the traceability of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it is possible to locate illegally acquired funds.
In addition, Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades recently announced that they would no longer accept donations in Bitcoin. This decision demonstrates that even terrorist groups are recognizing that cryptocurrency transactions are not as anonymous as they previously thought.
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