Crypto-Terrorist Financing: Israel Seized Millions Linked to Iranian-Lebanese Groups

The Israeli government through a multi-agency collaboration has seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency belonging to accounts allegedly linked to groups in Iran and Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant explained that the accounts were used to fund the Quds Force, the special unit of Iran's paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for extraterritorial operations, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and the militant group supported by Iran.

Israel Slams Hezbollah and the Quds Force

Gallant alleged that Hezbollah and the Quds Force, two organizations that are considered to be a major threat to the Israeli government, are deploying cryptocurrency to finance their activities. The Quds Force has long been accused of supporting and funding various militant groups, including Hezbollah.

The two groups have also been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States, with the European Union considering only Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization. Gallant said that the Western Asian country has now “effectively cut off” the flow of funds for terrorism activities through those accounts. He noted that the operation is the first crypto-related operation by Israel targeting both groups.

"Since the beginning of the year, Hezbollah, Quds Force and Syrian elements have used digital currencies in order to obtain in this manner funds from third parties, mainly money changers with whom they perpetrated unlawful transactions, which were used by the terrorist organizations for their ongoing activities," Gallant explained in a statement released on Wednesday by the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel.

The new operation is Israel’s latest move in the campaign against terrorism financing through the use of cryptocurrencies. Last month, Israeli authorities seized 189 Binance accounts allegedly linked to Palestinian and Islamist terror groups since 2021.

In February last year, the country confiscated 30 crypto wallets and 12 accounts it deemed connected to terrorism financing. The wallets were allegedly linked to Al Mutahadun, a currency exchange company based in the Gaza Strip. The exchange has been previously accused of providing financial support to Hamas, a militant group that controls the Gaza Strip in Palestine.

Gallant noted that the success of the new operation serves as a warning to terror financiers that the country had the capacity to identify the culprits who hide behind blockchain-based transactions.

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