- Hamas’ use of Binance and USDT to raise funds for its terrorist activities should be investigated, according to two US lawmakers
- Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill asked the DOJ to investigate the two companies for their links to its fundraising
- The data used for such accusations has been taken out of context according to Elliptic, the provider of the data
US lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to look into Hamas’ use of Binance and USDT to raise funds, despite recent objection from Elliptic over the use of its data. In a letter to the DoJ yesterday, Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill asked that the DOJ investigate to what extent Binance and USDT’s owner Tether assisted Hamas with its fundraising activities, which date back to 2019. This follows a letter from Elizabeth Warren to the Biden administration urging a clampdown on crypto after Hamas’ use of crypto was revealed.
Hamas Crypto Use Under the Microscope
Hamas’ use of cryptocurrencies to raise funds for its terrorist activities has been a bone of contention between several parties of late, sparked by a report in the Wall Street Journal which claimed that the terrorist group had raised $130 million. The source of the data, Elliptic, complained that its data had been misinterpreted and demanded a retraction of the article.
Warren used the erroneous data to write to the Biden administration and show them the nefarious use to which cryptocurrencies were supposedly being used, with Elliptic’s letter to her to point out her error apparently making no difference.
Following on from this, Lummis and French have now called on the DoJ to investigate Hamas’ activity through Binance and USDT:
When it comes to illicit finance, crypto is not the enemy – bad actors are.
I sent a letter asking DOJ to finish its investigation and consider criminal charges against Binance and Tether after reports they served as intermediaries for Hamas and engaged in illicit activities. pic.twitter.com/M3KGNFkpWc
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) October 26, 2023
In the letter, the pair said that while the level of funding in the Journal article “is likely not accurate,” the DoJ should nevertheless “hold bad actors accountable if they are shown to facilitate illicit activity.” The pair added that they would “strongly support swift action by the Department of Justice against Binance and Tether to choke off sources of funding to the terrorists currently targeting Israel.”
Binance and Tether No Strangers to Legal Action
Binance is already a target for various US authorities, while Tether is the scourge of the New York Attorney General, so the two companies locking horns with the powers that be would not represent anything particularly novel.
Of course, there would be very serious consequences if Binance or Tether were found to have aided in terrorist funding, but both companies are, publicly at least, doing all they can to halt such activity.
