U.S. Treasury Targets Hamas Crypto Funding For Financial Disruption: Report

Key Points:

• The United States plans to intensify efforts to deny funds to Hamas by cracking down on Hamas crypto funding.
• The Treasury Department is engaging with private sector representatives, including cryptocurrency firms, to gain insights into Hamas’s fundraising techniques.

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo recently announced that the United States, along with its allies, is planning to intensify its efforts to deny funds to Hamas, particularly by cracking down on Hamas crypto funding.

In response to Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel in October, the U.S. government has already implemented two rounds of sanctions on the Palestinian militant group, as per Reuters.

These sanctions have targeted Hamas’s investment portfolio and included issuing an alert to financial institutions to counter Hamas financing. Senior officials have also been engaged in discussions regarding the group’s access to funds during trips abroad.

To further counter Hamas’s fundraising techniques, the Treasury’s top sanctions official, Brian Nelson, recently held a meeting with representatives from the private sector, including cryptocurrency firms and payment processors.

U.S. Government’s Efforts to Counter Hamas Crypto Funding

The purpose of this meeting was to gain insights into the techniques employed by Hamas for raising and moving funds. The Treasury Department stated that Nelson has pledged to continue engaging with those who have taken proactive steps to investigate, identify, and disrupt Hamas-related financial activities.

While crypto assets may not currently constitute the majority of Hamas’s assets, Adeyemo warned that if the crypto industry fails to implement necessary safeguards and anti-money laundering measures, there is a risk that Hamas, along with other groups, will increasingly rely on cryptocurrency for their financial operations.

In response to this concern, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed a rule under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act, designating cryptocurrency “mixing” transactions as a primary money laundering concern.

This proposed rule would require financial institutions to monitor and report such transactions, which involve combining pools of assets or delaying transaction processing to obscure the beneficial ownership of crypto assets.

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