Israel Seized 189 Binance Accounts Linked to Terror Groups

Israeli authorities have confiscated 189 cryptocurrency accounts on Binance for their links to Palestinian and Islamist terror groups since 2021, Reuters reported. However, the amount of cryptocurrencies held by those accounts is not known.

Terror-Linked Binance Accounts

Three Palestinian currency exchange firms: Al Mutahadun For Exchange, Dubai Company For Exchange, and Al Wefaq Co. For Exchange owned most of these accounts, shows documents from the Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF).

The NBCTF document from last month shows that it had seized 80 Binance accounts belonging to the three Gaza-based money exchange companies, holding over 500,000 shekels ($137,870) in cryptocurrencies. It highlighted that the seized accounts were the property of the ‘terrorist organizations’ to be used for ‘severe terror crime’. However, it did not elaborate on any further links.

Israel designates all three companies as terror entities for suspected facilitation of fund transfers to Hamas, which runs the Palestinian territory of Gaza and is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and the European Union.

Another NBCTF document shows that two Binance accounts and their contents were confiscated last January. The document highlighted that seizure aims to ‘thwart the activity’ of the Islamic State. However, it did not mention how these were connected to the terror organization.

The same NBCTF document named Osama Abuobayda, a 28-year-old Palestinian, as the owner of the two seized Binance accounts.

Lapse of Binance’s Compliance?

Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in terms of trading volume with a global presence. The exchange’s website says it reviews information requests from government agencies and law enforcement on a case-by-case basis and discloses information if legally required.

However, the exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, face harsh allegations in the US for lapses of regulatory rules. A lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) called the compliance of the exchange a ‘sham’ and accused it of instructing “commercially valuable US-based VIP customers.” ways of avoiding compliance controls, insider trading, and even market manipulation.