FBI Seizes $200,000 in Cryptocurrency from Hamas-Linked Wallets and Accounts
The seized funds represent just a fraction of the more than $1.5 million in donations the Justice Department alleges passed through the accounts.
Cheyenne Ligon | Edited by Nikhilesh De Updated Mar 28, 2025 20:40 UTC Published Mar 27, 2025 18:28 UTC
What you need to know:
- The FBI said Thursday it had seized more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency from wallets and exchange accounts linked to Hamas.
- The accounts are believed to have been used to funnel donations from Hamas supporters around the world to the terrorist organization through a complex money laundering scheme.
In a statement released on Thursday, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had seized more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency from several wallets and exchange accounts linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Since October last year, more than $1.5 million in cryptocurrency — mostly in the form of donations from Hamas supporters around the world — has moved through the seized wallets and exchange accounts, the FBI said. The wallet addresses were allegedly shared in a group chat purportedly linked to Hamas, a terrorist organization designated by the United States and the European Union, and the donations were later laundered through a series of cryptocurrency exchanges and transactions.
“These seizures demonstrate that our office will pursue every cent of Hamas funding, wherever it is found and in whatever form of currency,” said U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. of the District of Columbia. “Hamas is responsible for the deaths of countless American and Israeli citizens, and we will do everything we can to stop their terrorist activity and murder.”
According to the FBI, approximately $90,000 in cryptocurrency was seized from an unspecified number of wallets, as well as $112,000 from three exchange accounts. The accounts were registered to Palestinian citizens living in Turkey “and other countries.”
The U.S. Treasury Department and other foreign governments have previously sanctioned financial networks and cryptocurrency transfer facilitators linked to Hamas, and seized cryptocurrency accounts associated with Hamas. In April 2023, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s National Bureau of Countering Terrorist Financing (NBCTF) seized nearly 200 cryptocurrency accounts linked to Palestinian currency exchanges. Over the past few years, the NBCTF has seized “tens of millions” of dollars in cryptocurrency from Hamas-linked accounts, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.
According to the US Treasury Department, Hamas has been using cryptocurrency to move some of its funds since at least 2020 to minimize the risks of physically transporting cash and avoid financial controls.
