US DOJ Filing Shows Hamas Military Wing Advised Donors to Avoid Binance

PANews reported on September 16 that, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of Justice's September 9 asset forfeiture filing included a letter from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. The letter advised potential donors not to use Binance to transfer funds, instead recommending platforms such as Bybit, OKX, Kast, and Redotpay, and suggested using Tether's USDT and the TRC-20 network on the Tron blockchain. The letter also stated that Binance "can only be used to purchase currency, then use another app to complete the transfer." This guidance shows how sanctioned organizations evaluate crypto platforms to evade detection or freezing.

Binance Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman stated that terrorist groups telling people to avoid Binance indicates its controls are working, and Binance is not a safe place for illegal actors. OKX said the wallet address mentioned in the letter is not associated with it, and its internal controls have flagged the address as linked to illegal activity, with transfers from OKX customers to that address being blocked. Kast stated it has a dedicated financial crime compliance function with a compliance team of over 50 employees. Bybit declined to comment, and Redotpay did not respond to requests for comment.