PANews reported on March 27 that the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had uncovered an ongoing terrorist financing scheme by seizing approximately $201,400 (at current value) in cryptocurrencies stored in wallets and accounts designed to fund Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Hamas). The seized funds came from Hamas fundraising addresses, allegedly controlled by Hamas, and have been used to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual currency since October 2024.
Court documents allege that a group chat on an encrypted communications platform claiming to be affiliated with Hamas provided movement to at least 17 cryptocurrency addresses for Hamas supporters around the world. Supporters were encouraged to donate to these addresses. The funds were sent to an operational wallet and laundered through a series of virtual currency exchanges and transactions using shady financiers and over-the-counter brokers. Using the money laundering system and virtual currency accounts described in the testimony, more than $1 million was raised and laundered.
