DOJ seizes $560,000 in crypto donations intended for Hamas

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Federal authorities have seized more than half a million dollars in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas. The Justice Department also announced this week that it took control of website domains and communication platforms used for fundraising and recruitment.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on social media that authorities seized $560,000 in crypto donations intended for Hamas. Investigators also intercepted the names and identities of thousands of people who tried to send money to the foreign terrorist group.

Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated for once and for all,” Pirro said in a social media video.

Pirro said authorities disrupted Hamas’ fundraising and recruitment communications by taking over key infrastructure.

By seizing their servers and their domains we were able to directly intercept money that was going to be used by the military wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigade,” she said.

According to FBI affidavits filed in connection with the seizures, beginning in about 2019, Hamas through its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, began testing virtual currency fundraising by soliciting donations on its Telegram channel before shifting to its official websites. The affidavits say the Al-Qassam Brigades boasted that bitcoin donations were untraceable and would be used for violent causes, and that the group’s websites offered instructions on how to make anonymous donations.