According to Jewish News Syndicate, an Israeli court has granted security agents the ability to take any digital currency in wallets related to terrorist groups.
The information was made public by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who said that the court order allows the ministry to take all digital currency in over 150 digital wallets. Before the court’s judgment, Israeli authorities could only seize funds explicitly tied to terrorism in the wallets, but no extra funds could be taken.
#cryptonews: Israeli court has reportedly issued a ruling allowing Israel's government to seize all the #crypto in more than 150 digital wallets that it has blacklisted for allegedly funding terrorist groups.
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 20, 2022
Gantz observes that the recent judgment has shifted the tide in favor of security, with $33,500 confiscated since the December 15 judgment. Investigators discovered that the wallets were tied to Hamas, a terrorist organization designated by Israeli authorities, the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), ZCash (ZEC), Binance Coin (BNB), Tether (USDT), and Litecoin (LTC), among others, were discovered in the wallets. Authorities confiscated $750,000 from the banned digital wallet last year after Gantz signed an order permitting its seizure. Gantz stated that the funds were used to support terrorism, making it the third large confiscation of the year.
An investigation into the wallets’ ownership revealed that they belonged to businesses associated with the Al Mutahadun digital asset exchange in Gaza, controlled by the Shamlach family. Al Mutahadun had previously been investigated for terrorism under the advice of Israel’s Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) for transferring funds to Hamas.
In reaction to perceived financial isolation by Israeli authorities, Hamas started seeking contributions via digital assets as early as 2019. Further, on Telegram, the organisation appealed to sympathisers and supporters, soliciting contributions in BTC and other digital currencies.
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