Court-authorized seizures have allowed the FBI to confiscate $560,000 in cryptocurrency and take control of domains and servers used by Hamas to raise money and recruit supporters, the US Department of Justice announced.
Hamas - a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization - has been raising funds for terrorist operations and recruiting supporters, announced US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“A message to Hamas: We will stop your fundraising for terror,” said Pirro. “Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated.”
As well as seizing the cryptocurrency donations, the Department disrupted Hamas' fundraising and recruitment communication platforms and websites. Hamas originally controlled the seized infrastructure and cryptocurrency addresses on behalf of its military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades. This work was carried out by the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, which collaborated with human sources to identify and seize domains and servers the Al Qassam Brigades that controlled its main website, AlQassam.ps.
“These seizures deprive Hamas of resources it relies on to recruit and radicalize individuals online and finance barbaric attacks like the one on October 7, 2023,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
“We will continue to tighten the vise on Hamas’s capacity for terror by infiltrating its online networks, confiscating its cryptocurrency, and shutting down its websites.”
Hamas relies on cryptocurrency and online platforms for financing
Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI's Cyber Division said Hamas relies on cryptocurrency and online platforms to solicit funds from donors around the world and move that money outside the formal financial system.
He promised that the FBI will continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organizations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations.