Binance dragged into US legal battle over crypto flows tied to Hamas
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Binance is facing a new legal challenge in North Dakota as more than 300 victims and family members of the 7 October 2023 attack accuse the crypto exchange of enabling transactions linked to Hamas before the assault.
The court filing uses a specific section of the Anti-Terrorism Act that allows victims to take action against entities accused of supporting designated foreign terrorist organisations.
The complaint outlines how crypto moved across several digital accounts that prosecutors say were linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages.
Expanded details on wallets and activity
The North Dakota case is the most detailed of four US lawsuits currently targeting Binance for allegedly aiding and abetting Hamas.
At 284 pages, it expands on earlier information released in 2023, the year Binance pleaded guilty to breaking anti-money laundering rules and agreed to pay penalties.
Changpeng Zhao stepped down as chief executive after pleading guilty and served four months in prison before receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump last month.
Executive Guangying Chen was not charged.
The new lawsuit raises additional claims about wallets allegedly tied to militant groups.
It says some transactions took place even after Binance’s 2023 guilty plea.
It also highlights links to Venezuela, outlining how criminal networks allegedly mined gold illegally, moved it abroad, and used it to support activities involving Hamas and Hezbollah.
A Venezuelan woman, aged 26, was identified in the filing as operating within a gold smuggling network and allegedly received large sums in crypto before withdrawing some funds in cash.
Compliance failures under fresh scrutiny
When Binance admitted to compliance violations in 2023, the company stated publicly that it was restructuring teams and improving systems to address historical failures.
The Justice Department and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said employees were aware that millions of transactions involved illegal activity, including fundraising activity linked to Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the US, the European Union, and several governments.
US law requires financial firms to block designated groups from the financial system, which includes running a proper anti-money laundering programme, checking customer information, and filing suspicious activity reports.
The North Dakota filing argues that Binance avoided these responsibilities and created an environment where militant groups could use crypto to move funds without oversight.
Jurisdiction remains a key point of dispute.
Binance is not based in the US, and courts are still assessing whether different states can hear cases brought by victims.
Two cases are underway in New York and another in Alabama.
The North Dakota complaint refers to at least two transactions linked to IP addresses in Kindred, North Dakota, to support jurisdiction.
Legal standards and individual cases
In one New York case, a ruling on 25 February said plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that Binance helped activities related to the 7 October attack.
The court ordered further fact-finding on whether it has the authority to hear the case.
Binance, in an April filing, argued that the decision applied aiding and abetting rules incorrectly and said plaintiffs could not show that the company played a direct role in the attack.
In Alabama, a judge refused a request to transfer the case to New York.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, companies may face treble damages if they are found to have provided substantial assistance to acts of international terrorism.
Claimants in the North Dakota case include survivors and families of victims, among them the relatives of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Itay Chen, Eyal Waldman, and Yechiel Leiter.
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Binance dragged into US legal battle over crypto flows tied to Hamas
Share:
Binance is facing a new legal challenge in North Dakota as more than 300 victims and family members of the 7 October 2023 attack accuse the crypto exchange of enabling transactions linked to Hamas before the assault.
The court filing uses a specific section of the Anti-Terrorism Act that allows victims to take action against entities accused of supporting designated foreign terrorist organisations.
The complaint outlines how crypto moved across several digital accounts that prosecutors say were linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages.
Expanded details on wallets and activity
The North Dakota case is the most detailed of four US lawsuits currently targeting Binance for allegedly aiding and abetting Hamas.
At 284 pages, it expands on earlier information released in 2023, the year Binance pleaded guilty to breaking anti-money laundering rules and agreed to pay penalties.
Changpeng Zhao stepped down as chief executive after pleading guilty and served four months in prison before receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump last month.
Executive Guangying Chen was not charged.
The new lawsuit raises additional claims about wallets allegedly tied to militant groups.
It says some transactions took place even after Binance’s 2023 guilty plea.
It also highlights links to Venezuela, outlining how criminal networks allegedly mined gold illegally, moved it abroad, and used it to support activities involving Hamas and Hezbollah.
A Venezuelan woman, aged 26, was identified in the filing as operating within a gold smuggling network and allegedly received large sums in crypto before withdrawing some funds in cash.
Compliance failures under fresh scrutiny
When Binance admitted to compliance violations in 2023, the company stated publicly that it was restructuring teams and improving systems to address historical failures.
The Justice Department and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said employees were aware that millions of transactions involved illegal activity, including fundraising activity linked to Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the US, the European Union, and several governments.
US law requires financial firms to block designated groups from the financial system, which includes running a proper anti-money laundering programme, checking customer information, and filing suspicious activity reports.
The North Dakota filing argues that Binance avoided these responsibilities and created an environment where militant groups could use crypto to move funds without oversight.
Jurisdiction remains a key point of dispute.
Binance is not based in the US, and courts are still assessing whether different states can hear cases brought by victims.
Two cases are underway in New York and another in Alabama.
The North Dakota complaint refers to at least two transactions linked to IP addresses in Kindred, North Dakota, to support jurisdiction.
Legal standards and individual cases
In one New York case, a ruling on 25 February said plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that Binance helped activities related to the 7 October attack.
The court ordered further fact-finding on whether it has the authority to hear the case.
Binance, in an April filing, argued that the decision applied aiding and abetting rules incorrectly and said plaintiffs could not show that the company played a direct role in the attack.
In Alabama, a judge refused a request to transfer the case to New York.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, companies may face treble damages if they are found to have provided substantial assistance to acts of international terrorism.
Claimants in the North Dakota case include survivors and families of victims, among them the relatives of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Itay Chen, Eyal Waldman, and Yechiel Leiter.
The post Binance dragged into US legal battle over crypto flows tied to Hamas appeared first on Invezz
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Evening digest: Trump–Xi call, China-Japan tensions, Alphabet nears $4T