On March 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it disrupted of a terrorist financing scheme used by Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (“Hamas”). U.S. authorities also seized approximately $201,400 in cryptocurrency funds held wallets and accounts intended to benefit Hamas. According to the DOJ, the FBI was able to trace these cryptocurrency funds to fundraising addresses controlled by Hamas that had allegedly been used to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual currency since October 2024. The seized assets include cryptocurrency addresses valued at approximately $89,900 and three additional accounts containing approximately $111,500 worth of cryptocurrency that were registered in the names of Palestinian individuals living in Turkey and elsewhere.
According to court documents, investigators discovered the scheme while following a group chat on an encrypted communications platform that claimed to be associated with Hamas. Members of the group chat allegedly encouraged Hamas supporters from around the world to donate money to a changing set of at least 17 cryptocurrency addresses. The funds from these addresses were then sent to an operational wallet and allegedly laundered through a series of virtual currency exchanges and transactions by leveraging suspected financiers and over-the-counter brokers. According to federal prosecutors, this scheme was used to raise and launder more than a million dollars for Hamas.