The US Justice Department published a forfeiture claim on nearly $2 million in digital currency used to support Hamas financially, in a statement released on Tuesday.
The DOJ stated that the forfeiture claim pertains to cash held by Tether Limited and Binance Holdings LTD accounts that are linked to the Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company (BuyCash), a Gaza-based transfer business.
US Attorney-General Pam Bondi said that the DOJ order proves that the US is committed to fighting Hamas.
“Terrorist organizations like Hamas and their affiliates rely on shadowy financial networks to fund their deadly operations,” said Bondi.
“By seizing millions in cryptocurrency, the Justice Department is aggressively dismantling the financial infrastructure of terrorism and refusing to allow our digital currency platforms to become safe havens for terrorist financing,” she continued.
“The forfeiture action unsealed today demonstrates that no matter what lengths terrorism financiers take to obscure their illegal transactions, the FBI will aggressively disrupt the transmission of illicit proceeds intended to support designated terrorist organizations like Hamas,” the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Steven J. Jensen, said.
What did BuyCash finance?
BuyCash and one of its owners, Ahmed al-Qad, are suspected of supporting several terrorist organizations, including Hamas, ISIS, and al-Qaeda affiliates.
Walla reported that BuyCash was used to purchase online infrastructure for ISIS in 2017.
In 2019, BuyCash received funds on behalf of an al-Qaeda affiliate. During that year, law enforcement identified several instances where BuyCash, with direct backing from al-Qad, facilitated the transfer of money to individuals known to support Hamas.
In June 2021, the National Headquarters for Economic Terrorism Combat in Israel seized various digital accounts connected to Hamas and its military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, including one account that showed activity linked to BuyCash.