Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has signed a seizure order for tens of thousands of shekels in cryptocurrency from 12 digital accounts for violating terror-financing laws, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday. This is the third seizure of cryptocurrency so far this year, the ministry said in a statement.
Some 30 of the digital wallets seized belonged to businesses that assisted the Al Mutahadun currency-exchange company, owned by the Shamlach family of Gaza. Al Mutahadun is one of two companies designated in 2021 as terrorist organizations on the recommendation of Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) for their role in funneling funds to Hamas.
The Shamlach family’s companies facilitate the transfer of tens of millions of dollars a year from Iran to Hamas, according to the Defense Ministry.
Some of the seized cryptocurrency belonged to the Shamlach family itself, the ministry said.
The seizure was a joint operation of the NBCTF, the national cyber unit of the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 and the Israeli Defense Forces’ Intelligence Division, the ministry said.
“We continue to expand the tools to cope with terror and the companies that support it,” said Gantz, according to the statement. “We are taking all the possible measures to cut off the economic ‘oxygen supply’ to terror organizations.”
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