The defense establishment thwarted terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force, which operated to transfer funds through digital currencies for Quds Force and Hezbollah

Defense Minister Gallant reveals – another step in the economic campaign against Iran: The defense establishment thwarted terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force, which operated to transfer funds through digital currencies for Quds Force and Hezbollah, and seized millions of Shekels intended for the terrorist organizations and transferred to the treasury of the State of Israel*.

The Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, spoke today at the third crypto conference of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in the Ministry of Defense.

Thanks to the exposure of the terrorist network, the defense establishment seized millions of Shekels intended for use by the terrorist organizations.

"Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been contending with complex security threats. With the years and the technological changes, the threats are changing and becoming more sophisticated. Along with the constant and uncompromising battle against terrorism-terrorists and those dispatching them, a new battlefront has been added:

Combating the resources behind terrorism, and simply stated: Combating terror funds".

"This is not an easy task, which becomes even more complex when digital currencies are involved. Anyone who finances terrorism, or maintains financial ties with terrorist operatives, must know that he is a target similar to whoever directs and dispatches terrorism".

"In recent months, we have developed at the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in the Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with intelligence and enforcement entities (the Mossad, IDF Intelligence Branch, Israel Police and additional entities), new capabilities that have led to very significant achievements also on this battlefront".

*"I would like to reveal here for the first time that a few days ago an extensive and precedent-setting operation to expose a terror financing axis using digital currencies was concluded. This is the first event of this magnitude in which an infrastructure headed by Hezbollah and the Iranian Quds Force that transferred millions of dollars for use by terrorist elements was thwarted".

"Since the beginning of the year, Hezbollah, Quds Force and Syrian elements have used digital currencies in order to obtain in this manner funds from third parties, mainly money changers with whom they perpetrated unlawful transactions, which were used by the terrorist organizations for their ongoing activities".

"By virtue of my authority as Minister of Defense, I have issued an order that enabled the seizure of the funds, the forfeiture of said funds and the transfer of the money to the treasury of the State of Israel. In doing so, we have effectively cut off the flow of terror funds along this axis".

"As we can see, also this time, a clear line connects behind the terrorist maneuvers that originates in Iran. Iran is the financier, the trainer and the disseminator of terrorism against Israel and many countries throughout the world, both directly and through its agents at the borders".

"We will continue to lead extensive national activity to combat the financial infrastructures of the terrorist organizations, of terrorist operatives and of entities involved in financing terrorism".