Israel has clutched more than 70 electronic wallets related to the fundraising drive by Hamas militants during the May Gaza flare-up.
Israel crackdown on the Hamas’ cash flows over last week, seizing multiple digital wallets connected fundamentalists ruling Gaza. Remember, the European Union and the United States black-listed Hamas as a terror group. The militants have been using virtual coins to circumnavigate authorizations. The group utilizes digital currencies for fundraising purposes and sends them overseas using digital wallets. They prefer cryptocurrencies due to their anonymity, making them hard to trace. Last week Wednesday, Israel’s Counter Terror Financing Ministry declared capturing various digital wallets related to Hamas in the last week of June. Keep in mind that that marked the first and most violent move against the militant’s crypto funding efforts. Hamas launched massive fundraising using crypto during their last fight with Israel. Wall Street Journal in June reports a spike in a crypto donation to Hamas. A group member said they use a portion of the funds for military needs to defend Palestine’s rights.
Most of the crypto accounts seized included Bitcoin. However, some of them involved Dogecoin and Ethereum. Benny Gantz, the defense minister, ordered law enforcers to clamp down the electronic accounts. That followed the cooperation with a crypto tracking company to uncover electronic wallets chains used by the group to raise money. The ministry reported that while broadcasting the seizure last week. The news came as Western states suggest digital wallets crackdown. Cybercriminals accomplish their digital fraud like ransomware attacks using the anonymity that electronic wallets boast.
Israel has multiple financial companies tracking such funds transfers and unraveling the intricate procedures utilized by cybercriminals and terrorists to secure their money. For example, Whitestream, an Israeli firm, tracked ransom fees paid to hackers that targeted Israeli companies. Chainalysis took part in the operation to clampdown Hamas’ crypto funds activities. The firm revealed how money moves from Hamas donation addresses to exchange addresses, sometimes passing via intermediary wallets, risky crypto exchanges, and cash services businesses. Israel’s BTC association head, Noa Mashiach, stated that the Hamas crackdown shows how digital coins are viable currencies if regulated.
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