For the past few years, the Israeli government has been waging a fierce fight against the financing of terrorism via cryptocurrencies. The country continues its offensive by authorizing this time the authorities to seize suspicious wallets.
Financing of terrorism: nearly 150 blacklisted crypto wallets
Until now, the Israeli authorities were not authorized to seize wallets participating in the financing of terrorism. Which is no longer the case. After a request by the government to the Court, the Tel Aviv Court of First Instance now approves this seizure. The announcement was made by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on December 18. The news is reported by theJNS news agency.
At the time of writing, the government has blacklisted nearly 150 suspicious wallets. In February, Minister Benny Gantz already ordered the seizure of crypto assets linked to the financing of terrorism. The operation, which was the third of its kind, was carried out by the NBCTF, Israel’s National Counter Terrorist Financing Bureau. This latest decision of the Court expands the prerogatives of local authorities to carry out this campaign against terrorism.
Use of cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes: where are we?
In Israel as elsewhere, the use of cryptocurrencies for criminal purposes, such as the financing of terrorism, is increasing. The adoption of digital assets in these schemes is accelerating. However, the use of cryptocurrencies for criminal activities is still limited according to a study conducted by the blockchain analysis platform Chainalysis. Israel nevertheless decides to take all the necessary measures to curb this accessible and borderless means of financing.
According to JNS, Israeli authorities have confiscated thousands of dollars worth of crypto since the decision was made public last week. Minister Benny Gantz’s latest statements show $33,500 seized from digital wallets linked to the Islamist militant group Hamas. Previous rules only allowed authorities to seize cryptocurrencies (not wallets) directly involved in terrorist activities. This means that the remaining funds in the wallet were safe from foreclosure.
In recent years, cryptocurrency has been increasingly used in criminal activities, including the financing of terrorism. Although this use case remains limited, governments want to quickly stem the problem.
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