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

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

Two U.S. lawmakers have asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider criminal charges against Binance and Tether, alleging that the two crypto platforms were 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 stressed.

Lawmakers Concerned About Binance and Tether

The office of U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced Thursday that the senator from Wyoming and U.S. Representative French Hill (R-AR) have sent 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 two 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 while 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 comes to illicit finance, crypto is not the enemy — bad actors are. I sent a letter asking DOJ to finish its investigation and consider criminal charges against Binance and Tether after reports they served as intermediaries for Hamas and engaged in illicit activities.

“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 published by the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 10 stating that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah have received crypto funding since August 2021. While acknowledging that the level of funding reported in the article is “likely not accurate,” the lawmakers said: “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 firm Elliptic clarified that there is no evidence to support the assertion that Hamas has received significant volumes of crypto donations. The firm added that the data it provided “has been misinterpreted.”

The letter proceeds to describe as an unregulated crypto platform based 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 stated: “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,” adding:

To that end, we strongly support swift action by the Department of Justice against Binance and Tether to choke off sources of funding to the terrorists currently targeting Israel.

What do you think about the lawmakers asking the DOJ to consider criminal charges against Binance and Tether? Let us know in the comments section below.




Register now to receive up to $255 welcome bonus. Let cryptocurrency change your life UPDATED link: $255(Lbank) + $100(jhjhj444.gq). Register NOW!

Popular Posts

Social Commerce on Cardano: Meloot to Hold a Seed Sale on KICK․IO

Image
PRESS RELEASE. The world of e-commerce is rapidly transitioning to that of social commerce, where demand for products is driven by videos and posts from social media. Both brands and their consumers can benefit from advertising products through social media, with stronger sales and valuable insights into product use cases, which further encourage online shopping. Video commerce already accounts for 10% of Chinese e-commerce – a trend that is already making its way to the West. That’s why we are thrilled to be hosting the seed sale of Meloot ($LADA) on the KICK.IO launchpad . Meloot is the first decentralized e-commerce platform on the Cardano blockchain, powered by its native utility token $LADA. You can think of Meloot as Amazon driven by TikTok, where e-commerce capabilities are utilised in synergy with video-based shopping, and Meloot algorithm connects people to the brands they like through an interactive medium. Meloot offers a platform for the sale and purchase of physical
Read more

TA: Bitcoin Lacks Momentum Above $38.5K, But Dips Likely To Be Limited

  Bitcoin extended increase above the $38,800 resistance zone against the US Dollar. BTC is now struggling near $39,200 and might correct a few points. Bitcoin started a fresh increase and was able to clear the $38,500 resistance zone. The price is now trading above $38,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $37,650 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could continue to rise if it stays above the $37,500 support zone in the near term. Bitcoin Price Consolidates Bitcoin price remained strong above the $37,500 pivot level. BTC extended increase and was able to clear the $38,500 resistance zone . The price even spiked above the $39,000 level and settled above the 100 hourly simple moving average . A high is formed near the $39,290 level and the price is now consolidating gains. There was a minor decline below the $38,800 level.   Bitcoin traded below the 23.6% Fib retracement l
Read more

Ukraine Crypto Donations: Government Now Accepts Over 70 Crypto Assets

Image
Crypto payment processor Coingate and International Business Settlement (IBS) have started an arrangement with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) that enables well-wishers to send donations to Ukraine via more than 70 different crypto assets. Calls for Widening List of Accepted Crypto Donations Lithuania-based crypto payment processor Coingate recently said it has begun an arrangement with the Ukrainian central bank that has seen the number of crypto assets well-wishers can donate to the country’s armed forces rise from just four to more than 70. This widening of the list of accepted crypto assets comes just a few days after the Ukrainian government acceded to Polkadot creator Gavin Wood’s pleas to have DOT added to the list of cryptos accepted for donations. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, shortly after the Ukrainian government said it would accept polkadot donations, Wood immediately honored his pledge and donated DOT coins worth over $5 million. Consequently, the Ukrainian g
Read more

Ethereum At $3028, Where Is The Next Critical Support Level For ETH?

Ethereum was priced at $3030 and the altcoin king noted a sharp decline of 11% in the past week. Major cryptocurrencies are all on a downtrend, after breaking past their immediate support levels. Bitcoin was priced below $40k and had declined by 12% over the past week. The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $1.96 Trillion after a decline of 0.2% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum had witnessed a selling spree in the last week but over the last 24 hours, the coin tried to recover from the grasp of sellers, however, buying pressure is yet to resurface in the market. Recently, Ethereum developers went live with their Mainnet Shadow Fork. Ethereum Price Analysis: Four Hour Chart Ethereum is priced at $3028. Image Source: ETH/USD on TradingView Ethereum was priced at $3028.86 and the coin has been hovering around the aforementioned price level over the past 48 hours. Immediate resistance for the coin stood at $3085.60 after the coin has been rejected from that level a couple of time
Read more

48% of Ethereum Blocks Face Censorship From OFAC-Compliant Flashbots

Image
For a couple of years now, MEV-Boost relays or Flashbots have become popular tools in order to gather the maximum value that can be extracted from Ethereum’s block production. However, in recent times, Flashbots have been controversial as people believe the technology threatens Ethereum’s censorship-resistance. This is because Flashbots account for 48% of blocks that are compliant with government-enforced regulations. Nakamoto Coefficient or Government Coefficient? — Crypto Users Complain That OFAC-Compliant Flashbots Have Stained Ethereum’s Censorship-Resistance While Ethereum has been complimented for meeting the demands of environmentalists, critics believe the blockchain network made a trade-off by increasing validator centralization, and the probability of rising censorship for a so-called ‘greener’ blockchain. The day after The Merge , when Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) network to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, PoW supporters criticized Ethereum over th
Read more

Localbitcoins, Crypto.com, Other Providers Suspend Services for Russians Under EU Rules

Image
Complying with the latest EU sanctions targeting Russia, well-known cryptocurrency platforms like Localbitcoins, Blockchain.com, and Crypto.com have started to restrict or terminate services for Russian accounts. The moves follow the adoption of new European penalties in response to Moscow’s military escalation in Ukraine. Major Crypto Platforms Conform to EU Measures, Restrict Services for Russian Users Over Ukraine War About a week after the European Union introduced another set of measures aimed at hurting Russia’s economy and finances, including its access to the crypto market, a number of service providers in the industry have taken steps to comply with the new requirements. In April, the bloc banned only high-value services, those for digital assets exceeding €10,000 in value ($11,000 at the time). Last Thursday, Brussels prohibited the provision of all crypto-related services to Russian residents and entities, regardless of the amount. Localbitcoins, the peer-to-peer excha
Read more

Conflicting Opinions on Future of US Economy, Bitcoin Added to Guinness World Records, and More — Week in Review

Image
Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has warned that the United States Federal Reserve’s actions to rein in inflation could lead to a “massive financial crisis” or flight away from the dollar on a global scale. Meanwhile, Joe Biden says the economy is “strong as hell,” and Bank of America and JP Morgan also say the economy is in good shape. Outside of the world of state-created, centralized money, bitcoin has now been added to the Guinness Book of World Records. Economist Peter Schiff Warns Fed Action Could Lead to Market Crashes, Massive Financial Crisis, Severe Recession Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff says there are two possible outcomes of the Federal Reserve’s action on the U.S. economy. One outcome leads to “a massive financial crisis and severe recession” as stocks, bonds, and real estate crash. In the second outcome, “the world will run away from the dollar,” the economist stressed. Read More Biden Says US Economy Is ‘Strong as Hell’ — White House Claims the President
Read more