Binance CEO Richard Teng has responded to allegations that the cryptocurrency exchange froze all of the Palestinians' money at the behest of Israeli military forces.
Binance CEO's Response
Richard Teng characterized the charges as “FUD,” which were made public on social media X by Ray Youssef, the founder and CEO of NoOnes. Teng clarified that Binance had not blocked all Palestinian accounts, but rather a small subset of user accounts clearly linked to illegal activity. He emphasized that, like other financial institutions, Binance complies with globally recognized anti-money laundering laws.
The Beginning of the Dispute
The dispute started when Youssef published an authentic Hebrew letter written by Paul Landes, the director of Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing. Youssef translated the letter, which is related to a seizure order issued on November 1, 2023. It discusses money sent to many cryptocurrency wallets, some of which could be connected to Youssef’s network. Although specific amounts and wallets are not specified in the letter, the use of cryptocurrency in terror funding is a known problem.
Context and Previous Actions
Israel has previously seized Binance accounts linked to terrorism, including 190 accounts since 2021. Following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, which resulted in significant casualties and hostages, Israeli authorities took additional measures. On October 10, Israeli police requested the freezing of more accounts tied to Hamas. Later that month, the U.S. imposed sanctions on entities involved in money transfers and digital asset exchanges in Gaza, targeting organizations and businesses associated with Hamas.
Thus, the dispute over the freezing of Palestinian accounts continues, raising questions about the role of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities and the measures financial institutions take to comply with international laws.
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