Victims of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel have filed suit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of enabling millions of dollars in payments to Hamas and other US-designated terrorist groups, Reuters reports.
The complaint, made public Monday, alleges the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange laundered money for Hamas even after pleading guilty in November 2023 and paying a $4.32 billion penalty for violating federal anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws.
The plaintiffs include 306 American victims of Hamas’ attack, including relatives of those killed, injured, or taken hostage, as well as victims of subsequent attacks. They accuse Binance of knowingly enabling Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to move more than $1 billion through its platform, including $50 million after October 7.
Zhao pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering violations and served a four-month prison sentence before being pardoned by US President Donald Trump on October 23.
“Binance intentionally structured itself as a refuge for illicit activity,” the complaint said. “To this day, there is no indication that Binance has meaningfully altered its core business model.”
Binance declined to discuss the lawsuit, saying only: “We comply fully with internationally recognized sanctions laws.” Zhao’s lawyer declined comment.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and triple damages.
According to the complaint, suspicious cryptocurrency transactions included accounts with no clear financial means. One belonged to a Venezuelan woman operating a Brazilian livestock company, Fazenda Amazonia. Her account, opened in 2022 at age 26, allegedly received $177 million in deposits and $130 million in withdrawals.
The case was filed in North Dakota federal court, which noted at least two suspicious transactions tied to online addresses in Kindred, a town of about 1,000 people.
Binance and Zhao also face a separate lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, where victims accuse them of providing a “clandestine” funding mechanism for Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A judge rejected their motion to dismiss that case in February.