Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has signed sanctions orders against 37 cryptocurrency wallets identified as part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) terrorist financing network.
According to Israel's Defense Ministry, the wallets contained cryptocurrencies worth more than NIS 24 million.
The National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), operating within the Ministry of Defense and in cooperation with the Israeli intelligence community, uncovered a cryptocurrency-based financial infrastructure allegedly used by Iran's IRGC to transfer funds to its regional proxies, including Hezbollah.
The investigation revealed that the digital wallets were used to channel funds to Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, primarily Hezbollah. An in-depth analysis of the wallets, conducted by the Ministry, indicated that the network had transferred tens of millions of dollars to terrorist organizations over the years.
The Ministry described the move as another step in its ongoing financial campaign against the IRGC and its proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. Officials added that disrupting the financing network was the result of coordinated intelligence, operational and legal efforts led by the NBCTF together with other Israeli security agencies.
"The campaign against Iran is not conducted only on the battlefield, but also in the fight against the money that fuels terrorism," Defense Minister Katz said. "Every dollar denied to the IRGC is a dollar that will not reach Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran's terrorist proxies. We will continue to target every financial channel of Iran's terror axis, wherever it operates and by every means."
NBCTF Director Yorai Matzlawi said, "There is no immunity for terrorist financiers, even in the crypto sphere. The NBCTF will continue to identify, expose and disrupt the financial infrastructure of Iran and its proxies wherever they operate."