Despite the fact that crypto assets have drawn attention from all across the world, their use continues to have a negative connotation through illegal channels. The Israeli government recently revealed that digital assets had been used by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon and the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Israeli authorities have taken control of cryptocurrency wallets linked to Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, according to Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister. Due to this move, millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency were seized. According to Gallant, he personally gave the order to seize these wallets. Earlier this week, he also gave the order for the money to be transferred to the Israeli government. He said,
“This is the first incident of this magnitude, in which an infrastructure led by Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force that transferred millions of dollars to be used by terror elements was thwarted. We have effectively cut off the flow of terror funds via this channel.”
Crypto Used To Finance Military Operations
The most recent advancement is quite important. Gallant emphasized that the Quds Force of the IRGC as well as Hezbollah used digital assets to fund their violent activities. He added that members of these groups, together with “Syrian elements,” have been utilizing crypto assets to fund their day-to-day activities since the beginning of the year. He also mentioned that a third party provided the funding. The money is subsequently transmitted via money exchangers to terrorist organizations. Gallant then issued the following warning,
“Whoever finances terror, or maintains a financial relationship with terror operatives, must know that he is a target, just like anyone who directs terrorism.”
For terrorist organisations, especially those from nations like Iran, crypto has proven to be a useful tool for getting through the economic restrictions the US has placed on them.
The recent seizure of cryptocurrencies used by terrorist organizations by Israel is not the first such move. About 190 Binance accounts believed to have connections to terrorist groups including Hamas and Daesh since the start of 2021 were seized by Israeli police in May.