DOJ Seizes $560,000 in Crypto Bound for Hamas
DOJ Seizes $560,000 in Crypto Bound for Hamas
The News
The FBI has seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas, the Justice Department announced Tuesday, calling it a disruption of the group's financing.
Along with the money, the department said it took control of website domains, servers and communication platforms that Hamas used for fundraising and recruitment.
Investigators also obtained information on thousands of people who contacted Hamas trying to give money, the department said.
The funds were meant to support the Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Timeline
Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising through the Qassam Brigades, according to FBI affidavits filed with the seizures. Donations were solicited on the group's Telegram channel and through direct online appeals.
Hamas officials bragged the currency would be untraceable, and the group's websites carried instructions for making anonymous donations, the affidavits say.
The FBI identified a financing network soliciting virtual currency for the Qassam Brigades. A confidential source in the United States flagged a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address tied to Hamas — the break that moved the case.
The Justice Department announced the seizures and the takeover of the Hamas-linked online infrastructure, executed under court-authorized warrants.
Reactions
"My message to Hamas is clear: your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated," said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a video statement announcing the operation.
Pirro described the operation as a massive blow to the group's online fundraising, and said the investigation produced the names of thousands of individuals who tried to send money to Hamas.
Brett Leatherman, the FBI assistant director in charge of the bureau's cyber division, said Hamas leans on cryptocurrency to solicit money from donors worldwide, and that the bureau would "continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations."
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached for comment, The Associated Press reported.
What's Next
The donor identities are the part with the longest tail. Federal investigators now hold a list of thousands of people who tried to fund a designated terrorist organization, and the FBI has said that information will feed ongoing counterterrorism work.
Whether any of those individuals face criminal charges has not been announced.
The Justice Department has not said how much money Hamas raised through the platforms before the seizures, or how much of the network remains operating.
More
The seizure is the latest in a run of federal cases targeting cryptocurrency as a workaround to the formal banking system. Rotating wallet addresses and encrypted messaging apps let groups under sanctions collect small donations from abroad without touching a regulated bank — and they leave a blockchain trail investigators have gotten steadily better at following.
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