Binance 'knowingly facilitated' Hamas terrorist group, new lawsuit claims

A lawsuit in the U.S. accuses global crypto exchange Binance of knowingly enabling Hamas to move funds in the years before the militant group's attack on Israel that occurred on Oct. 7, 2023.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in North Dakota on Monday, was brought by more than 300 victims and family members of the attack. The suit targets Binance along with co-founder Changpeng Zhao and senior executive Guangying Chen. 

The complaint alleged that Binance "knowingly facilitated" illicit transactions for Hamas and other U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) for years.

"For years, Defendants knowingly, willfully, and systematically assisted Hamas, the IRGC, Hezbollah, PIJ, and other terrorist groups to transfer and conceal the equivalent of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars through the Binance platform in support of their terrorist activities," said the complaint.

"This assistance directly and materially contributed to the October 7 Attacks and to subsequent terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas, Hezbollah, and PIJ," the plaintiffs added.

Binance is currently facing several other similar lawsuits across the U.S. alleging the facilitation of crypto transactions tied to FTOs. A Binance spokesperson told The Block on Tuesday that it cannot comment on any ongoing litigation. 

"However, as a global crypto exchange, we comply fully with internationally recognized sanctions laws, consistent with other financial institutions," the spokesperson said. "For context, the heads of the U.S. Treasury's FinCEN and OFAC have confirmed that cryptocurrency is not widely used by Hamas terrorists. Most importantly, we hope for lasting peace in the region."

Alleged Hamas-linked flows

The 284-page Monday complaint details how Binance allegedly enabled transactions linked to the militant groups.

It accused Binance of intentionally structuring its operations — including using offshore entities, omnibus wallets, and weak customer verification — to make it difficult to trace funds and identify FTO accounts. Some of these reportedly continued to operate even after Binance's 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities, according to the complaint.

Binance's legal troubles culminated in November 2023 when the company pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine. 

As part of the settlement, Changpeng Zhao also pleaded guilty in 2023 and resigned as chief executive. Zhao served a four-month prison sentence, was released last year, and received a pardon from President Donald Trump last month.