U.S. Seizes Millions Of Dollars Worth Of Cryptocurrency From Terror Groups

The US Justice Department has just announced yesterday that it had managed to seize millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency, which could have been used to fund terrorist groups such as the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. The law enforcement officials called this as an unprecedented crackdown against terrorist fundraising.

“Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

According to an NBC News report, the massive seizure, worth around $2 million dollars, funneled funding aways from terrorist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and al-Qassam Brigades. From this major counterterrorist achievement, we can see that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might not be as anonymous and safe as many have believed. 

Trusted its anonymity, the al-Qassam Brigades called for donations in the form of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, as they believed crypto was hard or nearly impossible to trace. However, NBC reports claim that the US law enforcement managed to have controls over the organization’s website and from there, they were able to divert funds to the wallets of the US government. In the end, they managed to seize 150 accounts tied to the funding efforts of the al-Qassam.

“They become less cautious because they think there is a cyber-enabled veneer that protects them,” a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. “They’re not really trying to hide what they’re doing; they are in fact very open.”

The law enforcement officials also said that they have also blacklisted several million dollars more worth of cryptocurrency tied to the online fundraising of the terrorists.

Because details are still scarce at the moment, it remains unknown whether or not the terrorist groups will be able to keep getting funds for their operations with cryptocurrencies or they have to find another way to get money after this massive seizure. 

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