Live Update From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Israel shuts down Hamas cryptocurrency accounts
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The cyber branch of the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 unit freezes cryptocurrency accounts belonging to Hamas, the police says in a statement.
Hamas had been using accounts to raise money on social media since Saturday, according to the police spokesperson’s unit.
Lahav 433 is working with the Defense Ministry, Shin Bet, and other intelligence agencies in the effort to shut down cryptocurrency channels that terrorist groups are using.
The cryptocurrency exchange Binance cooperated with Israel in locating and shutting down the accounts.
Lahav 433 also worked with the UK police to freeze an account in Barclays bank.