Israel’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 37 cryptocurrency wallets used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to finance terrorist groups.
Defense Minister Israel Katz signed the sanctions orders at the recommendation of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, following a joint investigation with the Jewish state’s intelligence community, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the digital wallets contained cryptocurrency worth more than 24 million shekels (about $8 million) and formed part of a financing network used by the IRGC to channel money to regional terrorist organizations, including Lebanese Hezbollah.
An in-depth analysis of the wallets indicated that the IRGC transferred tens of millions of dollars to terrorist organizations over the years, it added.
The sanctions were said to be part of Jerusalem’s broader campaign to disrupt the financial infrastructure of the IRGC and its terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis.
“The campaign against Iran is not conducted only on the battlefield, but also in the struggle over the money that drives terrorism,” Katz said. “Every dollar denied to the Revolutionary Guards is a dollar that will not reach Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran’s terrorist proxies.”
Yoray Matzlawi, head of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, said the operation demonstrated that “There is no immunity for terror financiers, even in the crypto space.
“The National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing will continue to identify, expose and disrupt the financing infrastructure of Iran and its proxies, wherever they operate,” Matzlawi added.
