Israeli Court Rules Officials Can Seize Crypto in 150 Blacklisted Wallets
Israeli Court To Recover Crypto Wallets
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz claims that the court's December 15 decision has already permitted police to recover an additional $33,500 from digital wallets connected to the Islamist terrorist group Hamas, based on a December 18 local Israeli press report.
Before the court decision, the only digital assets that Israeli authorities could lawfully collect were those that had direct connections to terrorist activities; other cash within the same wallets was not permitted. The wallets contained $750,000, which the authorities recovered in December 2021.
Issuance of Security Authorities
Since 2007, Hamas has served as the de facto ruler of Palestine's Gaza Strip. The United States, the European Union, Israel, and the United Kingdom all categorize it as a terrorist organization in its entirety or part. Hamas started requesting Bitcoin payments from its followers in January 2019 as a way to circumvent financial separation and restrictions. On July 9, 2021, Gantz issued a directive empowering security authorities to confiscate cryptocurrency accounts suspected of having connections to Hamas' violent branch.