Michaela
A federal judge has yet to rule on a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the families of victims impacted by the 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, targeting cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
On January 30, Binance’s legal team argued before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the families of victims affected by the 2023 Hamas attack.
A lawsuit filed in January 2024 accused Binance, its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and entities in Iran and Syria of providing significant assistance that helped Hamas carry out the October 2023 attacks on Israel.
Its legal team argued that cryptocurrency itself is “not inherently dangerous,” as reported by Inner City Press, refuting the lawsuit’s claims.
“There was no special relationship between Hamas and Binance,” said a lawyer for the exchange.
“Binance was told, Hamas is on your platform. They didn’t seize the funds, they helped them leave and told them they were flagged, facilitating,” argued the plaintiff’s legal counsel. This statement referred to an incident in 2020 when Binance allegedly allowed a Hamas VIP to quietly off-board from the exchange after being flagged.
Judge John Koeltl stated that he would issue a ruling on the firm’s motion to dismiss at a later time.
The complaint claimed that the defendants “provided substantial assistance” to Hamas by facilitating funding for terrorist activities and hiding this from U.S. authorities, ultimately contributing to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
“The best Plaintiffs can muster is that Hamas and other terrorists rely on cryptocurrency to fund their operations,” Binance’s lawyers stated in the motion to dismiss. “This is plainly insufficient.”
An argument made by the plaintiffs included CZ pleading guilty to failing to maintain an adequate Anti-Money Laundering program, weeks after the Hamas attacks. They contended that the company violated U.S. sanctions and banking laws by failing to report crypto transactions linked to terrorist organizations.
Zhao’s guilty plea led to a four-month federal prison sentence, while Binance settled with U.S. authorities for $4.3 billion.
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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
