The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized more than $200,000 U.S. in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies from digital wallets and accounts linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to the FBI, more than $1.5 million U.S. in crypto has flowed through the seized wallets and accounts since last autumn.
The wallet addresses were promoted in online chat groups claiming to be associated with Hamas and the crypto donations were laundered through a series of exchanges.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. in a news release.
Approximately $90,000 U.S. in crypto was seized from an undisclosed number of digital wallets, and another $112,000 U.S. was taken from three exchange accounts, according to the FBI.
Most of the crypto accounts were registered to Palestinians living in Turkey, said the law enforcement agency.
The U.S. Treasury Department and other foreign governments have previously sanctioned Hamas-linked financial networks and seized Hamas crypto accounts.
In April 2023, Israel’s Defense Ministry seized nearly 200 cryptocurrency accounts tied to various Palestinian groups.
According to the U.S. government, Hamas has been using cryptocurrencies to move money since 2020 to evade financial monitoring and detection.
The price of Bitcoin is currently trading at $85,000 U.S. per digital token.
