U.S. Lawmakers Call for Action Against Binance and Tether Over Alleged Illicit Activities
Summary:
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill have urged the U.S. Justice Department to consider charges against crypto exchange Binance and Tether, alleging their involvement in facilitating illicit activities and potentially funding terrorist attacks. While acknowledging the inappropriate use of crypto by some actors, they emphasized that the attention should be focused on these specific entities rather than the entire crypto industry. The appeal comes despite a blockchain firm's assertion that there's no evidence of substantial crypto payments funding the reported terrorist activities.
Wyoming's U.S. Senator, Cynthia Lummis, a known advocate for cryptocurrencies, is leading a request to the United States Justice Department for potential action against digital currency exchange Binance following terrorist assaults by Hamas on Israel. In a correspondence to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, dated Oct. 26, Lummis, in partnership with Arkansas Representative French Hill, is encouraging the Justice Department to deliberate on accusations against Binance and speedily finalize investigations into suspected unlawful activities involving the digital currency Tether. This appeal coincides with a coordinated assault by Hamas on Israel which allegedly received funding partly through malevolent digital currency transactions.
Lummis and Hill are urging the Justice Department to closely assess the role of Binance and Tether in indirectly financing terrorism through potential violation of relevant sanction laws and the Bank Secrecy Act. They are in strong favor of immediate action by the Department of Justice against these entities to cut off terrorism funding sources targeting Israel.
The call of Lummis, who is an active supporter of digital currency legislation in Congress, and Hill, who helms the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, mirrors previous concerns by Senator Elizabeth Warren and others on the possible use of cryptocurrency for terrorist financing. However, Lummis and Hill, unlike Warren, are directing the Justice Department's attention to specific problem-inducing entities such as Binance and Tether.
They reiterated the importance of not generalizing all digital currency operators as suspicious just because of a few wrongdoers. Many of these operators aim to comply with U.S. sanction laws and money laundering policies, recognizing the importance of these regulations in realizing the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
In reaction to the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, Binance suspended accounts associated with Hamas subsequent to requests from Israeli law enforcement. Nevertheless, Lummis and Hill deemed this action insufficient as it was a reactive measure; they argue Binance either permitted terrorist networks to function or turned a blind eye to it. They raised similar allegations against Tether for knowingly supporting violations of relevant sanctions laws.
Despite reports of Binance cooperating with Israeli law enforcement, Lummis and Hill argue that such cooperation after the fact does not absolve the exchange from criminal liability given the allegations that it permitted its platform to be exploited by terrorist groups.
On a related note, Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, on Oct. 25 dismissed claims that Hamas received any substantial crypto payments to finance its assaults on Israel. This contradicts other media claims, as Elliptic maintains that a Hamas-related initiative had gathered only $21,000 since the assault on Oct. 7.
Published At
10/26/2023 9:59:00 PM
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