Wall Street Journal: Hamas received millions of dollars through Moscow-based crypto exchange

Palestinian militants received millions of dollars through a crypto exchange registered in Moscow. This money was used to finance the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

Thus, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group received more than $93 million through digital wallets on the eve of the terrorist attack on Israel. Hamas also used a similar financing scheme. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The publication, citing data from the Elliptic analytical company, said that the terrorist attack on Israel was partially financed through the popular Moscow-based Garantex crypto exchange.

According to the analysts, more than $93 million were transferred to digital wallets controlled by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group on the eve of the invasion of Israel.

According to researchers, Hamas used a similar financing scheme.

Despite the sanctions imposed on the Garantex crypto exchange by the US Treasury, the platform is thriving. For example, in June of this year, more than $865 million were transferred through Garantex. This is three times more than immediately after the sanctions were imposed in April 2022.

The US Treasury Department emphasizes that it is looking for ways to deprive Garantex of cross-border transfers. At the same time, representatives of the crypto exchange, whom WSJ journalists contacted for comment, deny the accusations against them and declare "zero tolerance for money laundering."

Founded in 2019, the crypto exchange was initially registered in Estonia. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Garantex moved its IT infrastructure to Russia and became the main channel for withdrawing funds from the aggressor state.

The crypto exchange is located in the pretentious Moscow City business center: the Garantex office is located in the Federation Tower, which is considered "the most expensive skyscraper in Russia."

As a reminder, on October 14, the eighth day of the war in Israel, the IDF announced the elimination of the head of the Hamas Air Force. According to the Israeli army, he was directly involved in the organization of the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

A high-ranking terrorist was eliminated in one of Hamas' headquarters, which was hit by an air strike at night.

Meanwhile, the evacuation of civilians continues in the Gaza Strip. The United States is making diplomatic efforts to form a coalition against Hamas in the Middle East, to prevent third parties from intervening in the conflict, and to try to secure the release of hostages taken by terrorists.

Meanwhile, Israeli military forces discovered the remains of people who were considered missing during a raid into the Gaza Strip, as well as the belongings of hostages abducted by militants. The IDF expects the findings to help locate civilian prisoners taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip.

In total, about 120 hostages have been identified.

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