Allegations have been made by Noones CEO Ray Youssef that Binance has been freezing the accounts of Palestinian users under the instructions of Israeli officials.
Binance, the largest global crypto exchange in the world is under accusations that surfaced on August 26th via Youssef’s X Account that Binance “Seized funds from all Palestinians” after a request from the Isreal Defense Force (IDF).
Binance has seized all funds from all Palestinians as per the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied.
Your funds are SAFU at @noonesapp tho.
In accordance with the authority delegated to me by the Minister of Defense, according to Section 61(a)… pic.twitter.com/RYlsFmlh2i
— Ray Youssef (@ray_noOnes) August 26, 2024
The Accusation Against Binance
In addition to seizing the accounts, Youssef added that the exchange also refused to return the funds and denied appeals from users who had their funds frozen.
The reasoning behind the accusation is that allegedly, the cryptocurrency wallets belonging to many Palestinians have received funds from an organization considered to be a terrorist group on the heels of a large seizure from the Israeli Forces after seizing $2.8 million from money exchange companies in the West Bank.
BREAKING: Israeli forces seize $2.8 million from five money exchange companies in the West Bank, declare them terrorist organizations.
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) December 28, 2023
Unconfirmed reports surfaced that Binance was responding to appeals from Palestinian users and referenced a letter signed by Paul Landes of Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Finance, highlighting anti-terrorism laws and justifying the “temporary seizure of property belonging to a declared terrorist organization.”
Youssef did not hesitate to further voice his opinion, stating concerns over crypto seizures and centralized exchanges. He claims that centralized exchanges like Binance are becoming “government snitches” and are less concerned about providing secure platforms for digital asset storage.
In an inflationary X post, he stated:
“Not your keys, not your coins. We are all Palestinians now.”- Source
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Binance CEO Addresses Accusations
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance has responded to concerns over the allegations that the company is freezing Palestinian accounts, stating it is simply “FUD”.
Teng states that:
“Only a limited number of user accounts, linked to illicit funds, were blocked from transacting… As a global crypto exchange, we comply with internationally accepted anti-money laundering legislation, just like any other financial institution”
The action of freezing certain Palestinian accounts followed an order from the Israeli authorities after they claimed the accounts were being used to finance organizations it considered as “terrorist entities” violating anti-terrorism laws.”
Historical Compliance with Global Authorities
This is not the first instance of Binance complying with the requests of global authorities on such matters.
In October 2023, Israeli authorities ordered the freezing of cryptocurrency accounts that were allegedly used by Hamas for fundraising.
In April 2023, Israeli authorities seized 190 Binance accounts that were allegedly tied to Hamas and ISIS.
2023 also saw Tether freeze 32 crypto addresses that were reportedly linked to terrorist activity in Israel and Ukraine.
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Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
