Israel seized millions of dollars in cryptoassets linked to Iran and Hezbollah
Israeli authorities announced the seizure of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Assets are linked to Iranian military groups
The Government of Israel has confirmed the seizure of a series of cryptoassets linked to the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah worth several million dollars, in the first operation of its kind by part of the Israeli authorities.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has detailed that the operation was carried out several days ago and has stressed that it was “extensive” and that it “sets a precedent”. Likewise, it has said that it has allowed “exposing a way of financing terrorism through digital currencies.”
“It is the first incident of this magnitude in which an infrastructure headed by Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force that transferred millions of dollars to be used by terrorist elements is dismantled,” he explained, as reported by the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel.
Thus, he has maintained that members of Hezbollah, the Quds Force – the branch of the Revolutionary Guard dedicated to operations abroad – and “Syrian elements” have used these cryptocurrencies so far this year to finance their activities, while who has warned that those who provide money for these operations “are a target.”
“As you can see, this time there is also a clear line behind terrorism originating from Iran. Iran is a funder, trainer and propagator of terrorism against Israel and many countries around the world, both directly and through its agents in the borders”, Gallant pointed out, specifying that these funds will be delivered to the Israeli Treasury.
The Israeli authorities indicated in May that since 2021 about 190 cryptocurrency accounts had been seized on the Binance exchange platform that would be linked to Palestinian armed groups and Islamist formations, according to local media.
Source: dpa
(Reference image source: Unsplash, in collaboration with Getty Images)
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