Families of victims affected by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, have initiated a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The plaintiffs allege that Binance played a significant role in facilitating over $1 billion in funding for the terrorist group and others involved in the attacks.
The legal action, filed in U.S. federal court in North Dakota, comes shortly after Zhao received a pardon from former President Donald Trump for a conviction related to violations of anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws. Zhao, who previously pleaded guilty to the charges, was sentenced to four months in prison, while Binance incurred over $4.3 billion in fines due to related legal issues.
In a recent appearance on “60 Minutes,” Trump distanced himself from Zhao and Binance, despite having previously entered into a $2 billion deal with the company involving his family’s cryptocurrency venture. When discussing Zhao, Trump stated, “I don’t know who he is,” referring to his pardon as part of a “Biden witch hunt.”
The lawsuit includes 306 American plaintiffs and their family members who were harmed on October 7 or in subsequent terrorist activities. Among the names mentioned are the families of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage killed by Hamas, and Itay Chen, an American-Israeli soldier whose remains were returned by Hamas recently.
This lawsuit is part of a larger wave of legal actions aimed at seeking justice and compensation for the victims of the October 7 attacks. Previously, the Anti-Defamation League filed a case against eight foreign terrorist organizations involved in orchestrating the attacks.
The complaint specifically accuses Binance of “knowingly, willfully, and systematically” aiding Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in transferring significant amounts of money through its platform. Notably, the plaintiffs claim that more than $50 million in funds was processed after the October 7 attacks. The lawsuit asserts that Binance’s actions are “far more serious and pervasive” than those prosecuted by federal authorities in Zhao’s previous conviction, emphasizing that there is no indication that the exchange has reformed its core business practices since.
