- Federal agents have seized millions of dollars worth of bitcoin that terrorist organisations were using to carry out their violent campaigns, the US Department of Justice said Thursday.
- As part of the operation, officials also seized a website and four Facebook pages that ISIS was using to sell fake personal protective equipment.
- The seizure was just one part of a broader crackdown on the financial operations behind terrorist groups.
Federal agents have seized millions of dollars in bitcoin and more than 300 cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the terrorist organisations al-Qaeda and al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas group.
A press release, published by the Department of Justice Thursday, says its the government’s “largest-ever seizure of cryptocurrency” from terrorist organisations. The seizure was just a facet of a broader initiative to dismantle the financial operations of terrorist groups. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and the Internal Revenue Service were all involved in the investigation.
Al-Qassam Brigades and al-Qaeda had regularly asked for cryptocurrency donations to support their cause, using social media to amplify their requests.
Al-Qassam Brigades first started doing so in early 2019 with a social media request for bitcoin donations that the group said would be used for violent causes. But they weren’t anonymous as the organisation wished – federal agents from various agencies were able to capture all 150 of the crypto accounts and redirect donated funds to bitcoin wallets operated by the US government.
Read the article by Katie Canales in Business Insider Australia.