Earlier in October, Israeli police stated that they had succeeded in freezing a bank account that the authorities believe was linked to fundraising for Hamas.
It also said it blocked several cryptocurrency accounts used to collect donations, without specifying how many accounts or the value of the assets. The crackdown provides a glimpse of a complex financial network, writes Reuters.
The terrorist organization’s finances are described as good.
Hamas uses a global financing network to channel support from charities and friendly nations. The group sends cash through Gaza tunnels and uses cryptocurrencies to circumvent international sanctions. This is claimed by several experts and officials that Reuters spoke to.
Huge budget
Matthew Levitt, an American counterterrorism expert, estimates that the bulk of Hamas’s budget of more than $300 million comes from taxes on businesses, as well as from countries such as Iran and Qatar or through various charities.
Hamas has largely used cryptocurrencies to avoid being hit by international restrictions, according to Levitt.
– Hamas has been one of the most successful users of crypto for financing terrorism, Tom Robinson, co-founder of the research firm Elliptic, told Reuters.
Crypto donations
Between the summer of 2021 and the summer of 2023, the Tel Aviv-based analysis firm BitOK states that Hamas-controlled crypto accounts received 41 million dollars, equivalent to roughly 450 million kroner, in donations.
Since then, however, the inflow has subsided, largely due to Israel’s success in seizing or blocking nearly 190 accounts linked to the terror group.
Despite the reduced inflow of crypto donations, Hamas has found other ways to get money to Gaza. The US State Department says Iran provides up to $100 million annually in aid to Palestinian groups – moving the money through shell companies, shipping transactions and precious metals.
By 2022, Hamas had established a secret network of companies that manage about $500 million in investments in companies from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, among others, Reuters reports.
Qatar has also for periods donated large sums to the Hamas-backed government and residents of Gaza, which they have mainly received in cash.