US Treasury Department Investigates 165 Million Dollars for Possible Links to Terrorism Funding

Crypto News– The US Treasury Department has recently initiated an investigation into approximately $165 million worth of cryptocurrency transactions that may be linked to Hamas, particularly leading up to its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

US Treasury Department Investigates 165 Million Dollars for Possible Links to Terrorism Funding

This investigation has drawn attention to the intersection of cryptocurrency and global finance, especially concerning the financing of terrorism. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the inquiry stems from a report presented to Congress, revealing that the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has been examining suspicious activity reports spanning the last three years from US financial institutions. These reports are suspected to involve transactions that potentially facilitated activities of the militant group Hamas.

Nevertheless, FinCEN has indicated that the scale of Hamas’s cryptocurrency usage might be less significant than initially presumed. This suggests that only a fraction of the transactions under scrutiny might have direct ties to Hamas. This development follows intense debates regarding the role of cryptocurrency in funding terrorist organizations. During the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, assertions surfaced based on data analyzed by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, suggesting that Hamas had received millions in donations through cryptocurrency channels.

However, Elliptic later clarified that their data had been misconstrued. In reality, only $21,000 had been donated to Hamas through this medium, with a substantial portion of these funds being frozen by cryptocurrency service providers.

As a response to these concerns, in December 2023, Senators Mitt Romney, Mark R. Warner, Mike Rounds, and Jack Reed introduced the Terrorism Financing Prevention Act. This legislation equips the Treasury Department with the necessary tools to address emerging threats posed by digital assets in the realm of terrorism financing.