An American mother taken hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and relatives of two men killed after the terrorist group's October 7 attack have filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency giant Binance for allegedly inciting violence.
Judith Raanan, who was released with her daughter on October 20, and relatives of Itai Grisko and Dr. Daniel Levy Ludmir, who were killed by Hamas, file a federal lawsuit against the digital asset exchange, Iran and Syria. woke up. Wednesday in Manhattan.
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This appears to be the first civil lawsuit in what is expected to be a wave of lawsuits targeting Hamas and its network following the terrorist group's attacks and mass kidnappings that sparked an ongoing war with Israel.
The lawsuit targets Binance for allowing Hamas to trade on its platform. The allegations surfaced following a regulatory and criminal investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange that came to a head last year. Binance has pleaded guilty to violating sanctions and anti-money laundering laws that have allowed groups like Hamas to circumvent U.S. banking regulations. The exchange was ordered to pay a $1.8 billion criminal fine and forfeit $2.5 billion, and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is awaiting sentencing for violating banking laws.
Binance officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Raanan and her family's attorney, Robert Seiden, said they believed the victims were entitled to “recover substantial damages” under U.S. law, including anti-terrorism laws.
“We have been working on this case for several weeks and believe that anyone who supports terrorism must be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
According to the government's claims in the Binance case, Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, used Bitcoin transactions to raise funds for the Palestinian resistance movement. The company acknowledged that at least 1.1 million transactions worth $899 million were made by Iranian residents in violation of U.S. sanctions.
The complaint filed Wednesday alleges that the support Binance provided to Hamas helped finance violent attacks and recruit individuals to carry out the attacks.
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The plaintiffs also allege that Iran has emerged as a “major sponsor of Hamas terrorism,” increasing its funding and arms supply to the organization in recent years, according to the complaint.
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“Iran consistently and continuously provides $100 million annually to Hamas to enable Hamas to purchase weapons, pay terrorist fighters, and carry out other terrorist activities. ,” the complaint states.
Similarly, the plaintiffs claim that Syria is one of the “cradles of Hamas terrorism” and contributed to Hamas' military weapons stockpile up to October 7. The complaint cites news reports, publicly available findings, and documents filed in related lawsuits.
Mr. Raanan, the Grisko family, and Mr. Ludmir's uncle, Jeffrey Ludmir, are suing Binance for aiding and abetting and providing material support to a terrorist organization. The plaintiffs are seeking damages from Iran and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism.
Raanan's daughter Natalie, who was detained in Gaza for two weeks, and Raanan's ex-husband are also named as plaintiffs.
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