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FBI seizes over $560,000 in cryptocurrency destined for Hamas, disrupts online fundraising network
The FBI has seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency meant for Hamas and disrupted the group's online fundraising and recruitment network, the US Justice Department announced. Authorities also took control of website domains and communication platforms and obtained information about thousands of potential donors.
By Tertius News AI Desk2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articlesVersion 1Coverage Published
The FBI has seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas, and the US Justice Department said it had disrupted the group's fundraising and recruitment network online. Announcing the operation on Tuesday, the department said it had taken control of website domains and communication platforms used for fundraising and recruitment, and obtained information about thousands of people who had contacted Hamas with the aim of giving money to the group.
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a video statement: "My message to Hamas is clear: your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated."
Investigation details
According to FBI affidavits filed in connection with the seizures, Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in or around early 2019 through its Qassam Brigades, or military wing. The group sought donations on its Telegram channel and also used direct online fundraising. The affidavits said Hamas officials had claimed the currency would be untraceable, and that their websites gave instructions on how to make anonymous donations.
A major investigative breakthrough came last year when FBI officials identified a financing network seeking donations to the Qassam Brigades through virtual currency. A confidential source in the United States then alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address linked to Hamas.
Brett Leatherman, an FBI assistant director in charge of its cyber division, said the bureau would "continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organisations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations."
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: Emphasizes the scale and impact of the seizure and the disruption of a long-running network — assertive and official
Facts Included:
Department seized website domains and communication platforms used for fundraising and recruitment
Obtained information about thousands of people who contacted Hamas with a goal of giving money
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the operation in a video statement
Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in or around early 2019 through its Qassam Brigades
Hamas solicited donations on its Telegram channel and used direct online fundraising
Hamas officials bragged that the currency would be untraceable and websites offered instructions for anonymous donations
A confidential source in the United States alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address associated with Hamas
Brett Leatherman, FBI assistant director in charge of its cyber division, said the bureau would continue to intercept illicit funds
Framing: Highlights the seizure of a specific, large sum of cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas. — Official and assertive, reflecting a law-enforcement perspective.
Facts Included:
FBI seized more than USD 560,000 in cryptocurrency donations meant for Hamas.
US Justice Department said it disrupted Hamas’s fundraising and recruitment network online.
Department took control of website domains and communication platforms used for fundraising and recruitment.
Obtained information about thousands of people who had contacted Hamas to give money.
Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a video statement: 'My message to Hamas is clear...'
FBI affidavits said Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in early 2019 through Qassam Brigades.
Hamas sought donations on Telegram and used direct online fundraising.
Hamas officials claimed the currency would be untraceable and websites gave instructions for anonymous donations.
Last year FBI identified a financing network seeking donations to Qassam Brigades via virtual currency.
A confidential source alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address linked to Hamas.
Brett Leatherman, FBI assistant director, said the bureau would 'continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds...'
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe FBI seized more than USD 560,000 in cryptocurrency donations meant for Hamas.
ClaimJeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a video statement: 'My message to Hamas is clear: your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable, and we will not stop until your ability to wage war is defeated.'
ClaimAccording to FBI affidavits, Hamas began testing virtual currency fundraising in or around early 2019 through its Qassam Brigades, or military wing.
ClaimA confidential source in the United States alerted law enforcement to a Telegram post asking for contributions to an email address linked to Hamas.
ClaimBrett Leatherman, FBI assistant director in charge of its cyber division, said the bureau would 'continue to use its authorities to intercept illicit funds and prevent terrorist organisations from exploiting digital networks to finance their operations.'