Crypto Kingpin in Hot Water: $1B Hamas Scandal 🤑💣

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Well, butter my biscuit and call me surprised! Binance Holdings Ltd., the brainchild of the ever-smiling Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ, the crypto wizard), has found itself in a pickle hotter than a jalapeño popper at a vegan barbecue. 🌶️ Along with his trusty sidekick, senior executive Guangying Chen, CZ is facing a federal lawsuit that’s got more drama than a soap opera marathon. The claim? They allegedly turned a blind eye to transactions that helped Hamas pull off the October 7 attack on Israel. Yikes. 😬

  • Over 300 victims and families are suing Binance and CZ under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. 🎯
  • The plaintiffs say Binance enabled a cool $1 billion in transactions tied to Hamas and other shady groups. 💸
  • Oh, and did we mention Binance and CZ are already juggling three other federal lawsuits? Because, why not? 🥊

Led by attorney Lee Wolosky (who’s probably earning his weight in gold right now), the victims and their families are pointing fingers at CZ and his crew, claiming they knew exactly what was going on. 🕵️♂️

CZ Knew? Say It Ain’t So! 😱

According to the plaintiffs, Binance “knowingly facilitated” over $1 billion in transactions linked to terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That’s a lot of zeros for a lot of trouble. 📉

“When a company chooses profit over even the most basic counter-terrorism obligations, it must be held accountable – and it will be,” Wolosky told Bloomberg, probably while adjusting his superhero cape. 🦸♂️

The October 7 attack on southern Israel was a tragedy of epic proportions, with at least 1,200 lives lost and hundreds more injured or taken hostage. Now, the plaintiffs are saying Binance was essentially the ATM for these terrorists. 🚨

The lawsuit claims Binance “intentionally structured itself as a refuge for illicit activity” and knew full well that terrorist organizations were among its customers. Because, you know, nothing says “legit business” like funding terrorist attacks. 🤦♂️

This isn’t Binance’s first rodeo with the law. They’ve already been slapped with a $4.3 billion criminal penalty for failing to implement proper anti-money laundering controls, which allowed transactions tied to groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda. CZ even had to step down and serve a four-month vacation in a federal resort. 🏖️

But wait, there’s more! The latest 284-page complaint (because who doesn’t love a good doorstopper of a lawsuit?) claims Binance kept up its shenanigans even after settling with the Department of Justice. They allegedly sent over $300 million to terrorist wallets before the attacks and another $115 million after. 🤯

The plaintiffs also say Binance failed to maintain proper controls between 2017 and 2023, allowing sanctioned entities to move money like it was Monopoly cash. And let’s not forget their web of offshore entities with oversight so minimal it makes a ghost town look crowded. 👻

Take, for example, a Venezuelan woman who somehow received hundreds of millions of dollars despite running a livestock company in Brazil. She opened a Binance account in 2022 and proceeded to deposit $177 million and withdraw $130 million. Because, you know, cows are just that profitable. 🐄💰

“Binance ensured that terrorists and other criminals could deposit and shuffle enormous sums with impunity,” the suit alleges. And apparently, some of these wallets are still active. So, business as usual? 🤔

CZ’s Legal Circus Continues 🎪

While Binance is already juggling lawsuits in New York, Alabama, and Washington DC, this latest one takes the cake for being the most detailed, complete with specific wallet addresses and transaction records. It’s like a detective novel, but with fewer clues and more cryptocurrency. 🔍

Binance’s lawyers haven’t denied or admitted anything yet, but they’re quick to say the exchange complies with “internationally recognized sanctions laws.” Sure, Jan. 🙄

As for CZ, who was recently pardoned by President Trump (because why not add a little political drama to the mix?), he’s staying mum. Some folks are whispering that the pardon might be linked to financial ties between Binance and a Trump-family crypto venture. But hey, that’s just speculation. Or is it? 🤨

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2025-11-25 12:47