US Lawmakers Ask DOJ to Consider Criminal Charges Against Binance and Tether

Two U.S. lawmakers have requested the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to think about prison fees in opposition to Binance and Tether, alleging that the 2 crypto platforms have been used to fund Hamas. “We urge the Department of Justice to carefully evaluate the extent to which Binance and Tether are providing material support and resources to support terrorism through violations of applicable sanctions laws and the Bank Secrecy Act,” the lawmakers pressured.

Lawmakers Concerned About Binance and Tether

The workplace of U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced Thursday that the senator from Wyoming and U.S. Representative French Hill (R-AR) have despatched a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) “to swiftly investigate Binance and Tether.” They alleged that the 2 cryptocurrency platforms have been used to fund Hamas and “have a history of allowing illegal activity to occur.”

Lummis is a member of the Senate Banking Committee whereas Hill is the chair of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets. Senator Lummis highlighted “the need for federal investigators to crack down on bad actors in the crypto asset space after reports surfaced that showed Hamas used crypto assets to fund their war in Israel,” the announcement describes. She wrote on social media platform X on Thursday:

When it involves illicit finance, crypto is just not the enemy — dangerous actors are. I despatched a letter asking DOJ to complete its investigation and take into account prison fees in opposition to Binance and Tether after stories they served as intermediaries for Hamas and engaged in illicit actions.

“We write to you in light of shocking reports that unregulated, centralized crypto asset intermediaries based outside the United States have facilitated significant illicit finance activity over the last two years, including providing significant terrorism financing for Hamas’ malevolent attack,” the letter begins. The lawmakers added: “We urge you and the Department of Justice to reach a charging decision on Binance that reflects their level of culpability and expeditiously conclude your investigations into the ongoing illicit activities involving Tether.”

The letter cites an article revealed by the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 10 stating that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah have acquired crypto funding since August 2021. While acknowledging that the extent of funding reported within the article is “likely not accurate,” the lawmakers mentioned: “We believe it is nonetheless imperative that the Department of Justice hold bad actors accountable if they are shown to facilitate illicit activity.”

This week, blockchain analytics agency Elliptic clarified that there’s no evidence to help the assertion that Hamas has acquired important volumes of crypto donations. The agency added that the information it supplied “has been misinterpreted.”

The letter proceeds to explain as an unregulated crypto platform based mostly in Seychelles and the Cayman Islands that has “historically been linked to illicit activity,” noting that the firm is “purportedly the subject of a current Department of Justice investigation.”

Moreover, Lummis and Hill acknowledged: “It is well-known that Tether is knowingly facilitating violations of applicable sanctions laws and the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to conduct adequate customer due diligence and screenings despite being aware that its product is used to facilitate terrorism and other illicit activities.”

The lawmakers concluded, “We urge the Department of Justice to carefully evaluate the extent to which Binance and Tether are providing material support and resources to support terrorism through violations of applicable sanctions laws and the Bank Secrecy Act,” including:

To that finish, we strongly help swift motion by the Department of Justice in opposition to Binance and Tether to choke off sources of funding to the terrorists at the moment concentrating on Israel.

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