Israel sanctions 37 crypto wallets tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guards terror financing
Defense Minister Israel Katz signed sanctions orders against dozens of digital wallets holding more than $8 million, which was intended to fund Hezbollah and other proxies
Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), working with the country's intelligence community, uncovered a cryptocurrency-based financing infrastructure used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to transfer funds to regional proxies, including Hezbollah. Acting on the NBCTF's recommendation, Katz signed sanctions orders Wednesday against 37 digital wallets identified as central to the network, which held cryptocurrencies worth more than 24 million NIS ($8 million).
The investigation found the wallets were used to move funds to Iran-backed terrorist organizations, primarily Hezbollah, which officials say has been seeking new funding sources after sustaining heavy losses in its fighting with Israel. Analysis of wallets linked to Hezbollah within the network indicated tens of millions of dollars had been transferred to terrorist organizations through the infrastructure over the years.
The sanctions represent another step in a broader economic campaign led by the Defense Ministry's National Headquarters for Combating Economic Terrorism against financing infrastructures tied to the Revolutionary Guards and its proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
Officials said the operation resulted from combined intelligence, operational, and legal work by the headquarters alongside other security agencies.
"The campaign against Iran is not only being waged on the battlefield, but also in the fight for the money that drives terrorism," Katz said. "Every dollar that is withheld from the Revolutionary Guards is a dollar that will not reach Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran's terrorist proxies. We will continue to target all the financing routes of the Iranian terrorist axis, everywhere and by any means."
IDF Head Yurai Matslav said there is "no immunity for terrorist financiers in the crypto space either," adding that the military "will continue to locate, expose and target the financing infrastructures of Iran and its proxies, wherever they operate."