ChainCatcher News, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat from Massachusetts) stated in a letter to the Blockchain Association that the lobbying efforts of the cryptocurrency industry "undermine" the federal government's anti-terrorism efforts, claiming that cryptocurrencies are used by terrorist organizations, including Hamas, to evade sanctions. Warren accused the Blockchain Association and "other cryptocurrency interest groups" of lobbying efforts that "focus on delaying and denying new rules to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorists and criminals."

ChainCatcher news, Binance's senior anti-terrorism officer Jennifer Hicks has left Binance. Jennifer Hicks joined Binance in December 2021, serving as Senior Manager of Intelligence and Investigations, Senior Investigator of Sanctions and Terrorism Financing Risk, and Senior Anti-Terrorism Officer. Prior to joining Binance, Jennifer Hicks worked as a Senior Cybercrime Investigator at Chainalysis.

ChainCatcher news, Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett posted on the X platform that the U.S. House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) subcommittee will hold a hearing on October 26 local time, titled "Funding Transfers: Understanding How the Iranian Regime Obtains Funds Worldwide and How It Uses These Funds to Support Terrorism." The role of cryptocurrency in this regard is expected to be a key topic.Previously, 86 U.S. lawmakers pressured the Biden administration to provide details on plans to prevent extremist organizations from using cryptocurrency to finance terrorism.

ChainCatcher news, in response to a previous report by Reuters questioning Binance's compliance policies for preventing and handling terrorist financing, Binance stated that the same reporter from Reuters deliberately omitted key facts, and that Binance's policies and processes comply with AMLD5/6 anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements.Binance stated that once a transaction is verified on the blockchain, it is impossible for the cryptocurrency exchange to block or reverse digital asset deposits. The true measure of a cryptocurrency exchange's compliance is the steps taken to identify suspicious deposits and respond to them. Malicious actors do not register accounts in the name of their criminal enterprises. Exchanges need to cooperate with law enforcement and utilize information available only to them to identify individuals operating accounts for illegal organizations.According to Reuters, since 2021, Israel has seized approximately 190 crypto accounts on Binance, including two accounts allegedly linked to the Islamic State, as well as dozens of accounts reportedly owned by Palestinian companies associated with the Islamic Hamas organization. (Source link)