Court allows government to seize digital currency from wallets linked to terror funding
An Israeli court has allowed the Defense Ministry to seize cryptocurrency from digital wallets previously used to fund terror groups.
Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s office publishes a statement revealing that the Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court approved such a seizure for the first time on Thursday.
In the past, Israel has seized cryptocurrency allegedly used for funding terror groups, but not additional funds.
According to the statement, Israel has seized NIS 116,000 ($33,500) from digital wallets used to funnel funds to the Hamas terror group last year. In December 2021, Israeli authorities seized NIS 2.6 million ($750,000) in cryptocurrency from the same wallets.
At least 150 digital wallets were sanctioned by Israel, and additional funds currently in them could be seized based on the new court ruling.
