Israel Seizes 187 Crypto Wallets from Iran IRGC in Anti-Terror Efforts
Iran IRGC Faces Major Blow as Israel Seizes Crypto Wallets
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps faces a major blow as Israel seizes 187 cryptocurrency wallets in anti-terrorist financing efforts. Under the 2016 Anti-Terrorism Law, the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued the seizure order, arguing that the Iran IRGC wallets were “used for the perpetration of a severe terror crime.”
IRGC Faces Wallet Seizure
In the latest development within the Iran-Israel war, the NBCTF seized 187 crypto wallets allegedly linked to the Iran IRGC. Although the wallets have historically transacted $1.5 billion, their current balance stands at $1.5 million, a mere portion of the total funds that have passed through them. The seizure order freezes the funds, preventing any future transactions.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has faced sanctions and is officially designated as a terrorist organization by several countries and entities, including the US, Canada, UK, and EU. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the seized addresses have accumulated $1.5 billion in USDT, the Tether stablecoin, over time. However, Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson noted that the company cannot verify the wallets' alleged connection to the Revolutionary Guard.
This move follows the US Justice Department’s seizure of $584,741 in USDT from Iranian national Mohammad Abedini, founder of a navigation system manufacturer, just last Friday. Abedini's company allegedly supplied systems used in the IRGC's military drone program, including the Shahed UAV.
In December 2024, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on crypto addresses linked to Sa'id Ahmad Muhammad al-Jamal, which had received $332 million in USDT. Al-Jamal was accused of funneling tens of millions of dollars to Yemen's Houthi militant group (Ansarallah) in collaboration with senior IRGC-QF officials.
Tether Freezes Iran IRGC Assets
The utilization of the USDT stablecoin has enabled the seizure of the Iran IRGC funds. The company’s "blacklisting" feature has made it easy for the NBCT to forfeit the funds.
Following the NBCTF's listing of 187 suspicious addresses, Tether blacklisted 39 of these addresses on September 13, effectively freezing approximately $1.5 million in USDT and preventing further transactions.
Addressing this matter, Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at the Miaan Group, a nonprofit focused on the Islamic nation, commented that Israel might have obtained information about the wallets through cyberattacks on Iran's infrastructure. Rashidi noted that rumors have long circulated about the group using cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.
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