Israeli authorities have reportedly seized about 190 cryptocurrency accounts at Binance since 2021, claiming that some of them are linked to terrorist groups – Hamas and Islamic State.
The exchange claimed that Reuters (the outlet that reported on the confiscation) was “deliberately leaving out critical facts to fit their narrative”. He affirmed that the fight against money laundering and the prevention of terrorist activities remain a key objective for the company.
The Reuters/Binance clash
According to the news agency, all Binance crypto accounts have been seized belonged at three Palestinian money changers designated by Israel as “terrorist organizations”.
Additionally, Reuters claimed that two of the total addresses were linked to the Islamic State, while Hamas-controlled companies had a dozen more. A document released by Israel’s National Counter Terrorist Financing Bureau (NBCTF) and seen by the media showed that the accounts belonged to a 28-year-old Palestinian man named Osama Abuobayada.
The Islamic State and Hamas have claimed responsibility for numerous incidents in recent years, while the United States, the European Union and many others have listed them among the deadliest terrorist entities.
Reuters has criticized Binance over the years for not complying with anti-money laundering procedures. He went further, saying the company had processed more than $10 billion in payments for criminals since 2017.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was quick to respond to the allegations, saying a certain media news provider reporter “deliberately omits critical facts” to cast Binance in a bad light.
He assured that anti-money laundering policies and the fight against the financing of terrorism based on cryptocurrency are among the strictest standards for the company:
“The bottom line is that we don’t know of any exchange – or any other financial institution for that matter – that is doing more today to keep bad actors off their platform than Binance.
Our policies and processes comply with AMLD5/6 anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements, and we have a robust compliance program that incorporates sophisticated anti-money laundering principles and tools. money and global sanctions to detect and address suspicious activity. We even have specialists in our team who have devoted their entire careers to the fight against terrorism.
Binance said it cooperated with law enforcement on the aforementioned seizures. He added that criminals do not register accounts under the names of their criminal groups. However, the company takes appropriate action once it discovers such bad behavior and freezes accounts if necessary.
Subsequently, the exchange pointed out that blockchain technology has “proven to be one of the most powerful tools for law enforcement anti-money laundering efforts” due to its nature. immutable and public.
Hamas says ‘no’ to Bitcoin donations
As CryptoPotato reported last month, Hamas’ military wing – the Al-Qassam Brigades – planned to stop accepting BTC donations to protect contributors.
Some economists, like Mohammad Abu Jayyab, believe that Israeli agencies could track these transactions and see who has a connection to the Palestinian organization. Another suggestion is that Hamas has found more advanced options for funding its operations or has reverted to traditional funding methods.
US authorities halted efforts by Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State to raise funds through digital currencies and seized $2 million in crypto in 2020. The Palestinian entity got most of her donations in BTC from Muslim countries since most support her in her war against Israel.
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