The U.S. government seized some $201,400 worth of virtual currency, which it says was used to finance Hamas operations, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday.
The seized funds, which were registered to Palestinians living in Turkey and other countries, were used to launder more than $1.5 million for Hamas since October 2024, the U.S. government said.
A group chat allegedly associated with Hamas solicited donations via a group chat to a changing set of some dozen and a half cryptocurrency addresses.
“These seizures show that this office will search high and low for every cent of money going to fund Hamas, wherever it is found, and in whatever form of currency,” stated Edward Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
“Hamas is responsible for the death of many U.S. and Israeli nationals,” he added. “We will stop at nothing to stop their campaign of terror and murder.”
After the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli Police stepped up efforts to stop Hamas and other terror organizations from using cryptocurrency and affiliated wallets to finance terror.
