Binance CEO Denies Claims That Exchange Frozen All Palestinian Customer Funds

Binance CEO Richard Teng on Wednesday dismissed allegations that the exchange had targeted Palestinian users with widespread asset seizures, saying the cryptocurrency exchange only cracked down on accounts in the region under certain circumstances and on orders from the Israeli military.

“Only a limited number of user accounts linked to illicit funds have been blocked from trading.” Teng Said On Twitter (aka X). “As a global cryptocurrency exchange, we comply with internationally recognized anti-money laundering laws.”

On Monday, Ray Youssef, CEO of Noones, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, claimed Binance claimed that it had “seized all funds of all Palestinians” at the request of the Israeli military. In a series of Twitter posts, he presented Noones as an alternative service for those who “boycott Binance,” along with several pieces of evidence purporting to support his claims.

On Twitter, Youssef posted: letter In the letter, written in Hebrew and dated November 2023 and addressed to no one in particular, Paul Landes, who heads Israel’s National Counter-Terrorism Financing Agency, said, “Cryptocurrency wallets, including those registered in your name, have been used to transfer funds from Hamas, a declared terrorist organization.”

The authenticity of the document could not be immediately confirmed, DecodeThe letter appears to have been directed at a specific individual or group. It also mentions a “seizure order” that was not included with Youssef’s letter.

Youssef’s initial post claimed that Binance refused to “return the funds” and has been viewed over half a million times on Twitter as of this writing. In a follow-up tweet, Youssef said: Said He said he had “gotten it from multiple sources” and that some sources were having trouble recovering the seized funds.

Decode We have reached out to the Israeli military to clarify the authenticity and scope of the letter, but have not received an immediate response.

Youssef also said:Video proof” It is said that the funds of Palestinian users have been completely seized. In a screen recording that appears to have come from an iPhone, Noones is listed as a frequently visited website, and the phone has the pizza chain Domino’s app installed.

Youssef did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Decode.

Israel has seized funds from 190 Binance accounts since 2021. Reuters Reported In May. Also the Department of Justice (DOJ) Said Last November, Binance claimed it “intentionally facilitated” around $900 million worth of transactions between U.S. users and Iran, a sanctioned jurisdiction.

The DOJ’s statement comes after Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ) resigned. $4 billion settlement. Zhao is currently serving a prison sentence for pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering regulations. 4 months in prison.

Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Decode.

Before Youssef became CEO of Noones, the entrepreneur led Bitcoin peer-to-peer marketplace Paxful. When the platform abruptly shut down in April last year, Youssef Said Decode The service has gained significant ground in the Southern Hemisphere.

In a post Tuesday, Teng described “some misrepresentations” about the asset seizures as “FUD,” an acronym for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Teng added that Binance’s ultimate hope is “lasting peace throughout the region,” which has been rocked by conflict for months.

“We will vote with our money and go somewhere else until you build up your courage,” said Youssef. Commented Regarding Teng’s post: “This whitewashed nonsense is ineffective and only makes you look uglier.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward