Victims and families affected by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings Ltd. , accusing the cryptocurrency exchange of knowingly allowing over $1 billion in transactions that funded Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups.
The case, brought in a U.S. District Court in North Dakota, alleges Binance deliberately ignored compliance obligations, failing to file mandatory Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and concealing illicit transactions, including more than $50 million after the attacks.
The plaintiffs claim Binance’s founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and executive Guangying “Heina” Chen structured the platform as “a criminal enterprise to facilitate money laundering on a global scale.
This comes after Binance’s 2023 settlement with U.S. regulators, paying $4.3 billion in penalties for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. CZ pleaded guilty, serving a four-month sentence before receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump in October 2025.
Evidence suggests Binance used off-chain and peer-to-peer methods to evade oversight, allowing terrorists to covertly move funds. Internal communications indicate executives were aware of these risks but prioritised profits over regulation. The firm is also implicated in permitting Gaza-based brokers to facilitate illegal transactions.
Plaintiffs seek triple damages under U.S. anti-terrorism law, potentially exposing Binance to steep financial penalties. Binance denies any special relationship with Hamas and asserts full compliance with international laws, though critics dispute this stance.
The Trump family’s involvement—including plans to use their crypto firm’s stablecoin to enable a $2 billion investment in Binance by Emirati investors—adds further scrutiny.