Victims of Hamas sued Binance for alleged ‘aid’ to terrorists
Crypto exchange Binance, its former CEO Changpeng Zhao, along with the governments of Iran and Syria, have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by three families of victims of the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.
The plaintiffs, who include former hostages, victims' families and the slain doctor's estate, are seeking damages under US anti-terrorism laws, alleging the defendants provided “substantial assistance” to terrorists.
The complaint was filed on January 31 in the Southern District Court of New York.
“The defendant, Binance, conducted multiple transactions with Hamas and related Palestinian terrorist groups between 2017 and mid-2023, providing a secret financial instrument that Binance intentionally concealed from US regulators.”
The plaintiffs alleged that Binance provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations by designating foreign terrorist organizations. They want compensatory and punitive damages and costs.
The defendants cited Binance's settlement with the US Department of Justice in November, which included anti-money laundering violations:
“For years, the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and US regulators have declared Binance […] Illegal actors, including Hamas and other terrorist groups, knowingly allowed to evade US laws and regulatory restrictions related to terrorist financing.
Binance has agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine and undergo extensive monitoring by US government agencies over the settlement. Following the October 7 attacks on Israel, the cryptocurrency exchange suspended Hamas-linked accounts within days at the request of Israeli law enforcement.
Related: US, UK, Australia increase sanctions on Hamas-linked crypto facilitators
The Iranian government, for its part, is accused of being the “main global sponsor” of Hamas and international terrorism, including hundreds of millions of dollars in support to the group – including military training, weapons and intelligence.
Syria is accused of similar charges, which also include allegations that it supplied Hamas with a drug known as Captagon, “the sale of which is believed to be a source of funding for terrorist groups and used by Hamas terrorists to promote anger, frustration. It encouraged them to “kill and torture” the victims of the October 7 terrorist attack.
Calls for action on terrorist financing have been heard from both sides of the US Congress, with Binance notably mentioned in some.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance but did not receive an immediate response.
Magazine: Terrorism and the Israel-Gaza War Are Armed to Destroy Crypto.
