Israel’s Defense Ministry has seized 12 digital accounts containing cryptocurrency worth tens of thousands of shekels that it says were to be directed to the Hamas terror group.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed a seizure order for the cryptocurrency allegedly intended to assist Hamas, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Defense Ministry. The seizure includes about 30 digital wallets belonging to businesses that assisted the Al’matchadun currency exchange company owned by the Shamlach family and designated as a terror organization.
The Shamlach family, through the currency exchange companies it owns, assists the Hamas terror organization, particularly its military arm, by transferring tens of millions of dollars per year, according to the ministry.
The cryptocurrency was confiscated in a joint operation of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in Israel (NBCTF), the national cyber unit of Lahav 433, and the IDF’s Intelligence Division.