In Brief:
- Delhi Police’s IFSO unit finds fraudulent crypto transfers made to the wallets of Al-Qassam Brigades.
- The fraudulent crypto fund was sent through various private wallets before reaching the one operated and used by Hamas’ military wing.
Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit have revealed that fraudulent transfers of cryptocurrency were made into the wallets of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of the terrorist organization Hamas. The military wing of Hamas is globally known for using stolen and donated cryptocurrency for terror financing.
According to local news reports, the fraudulent crypto fund was sent through various private wallets before finally landing up with those being operated and used in Gaza by Al-Qassam.Â
As per the confidential investigation report prepared by DCP (IFSO) KPS Malhotra, the cryptocurrencies whose value as of today’s prices stands at Rs 4 crore ($536,000), were stolen from a west Delhi businessman’s wallet.
The case was registered in 2019 after the businessman lodged a police complaint of losing access to his wallet. The victim possessed 9.79 Ethereum, 6.2 Bitcoin, and 2.44 Bitcoin Cash of blockchain mobile wallet.
The compromised wallet’s details were then uploaded onto the Darknet – a part of the internet not accessible by traditional search engines – that is often used for crypto-related illicit finance.
Initial investigation revealed that the victim’s device was hacked and currencies were transferred into three different accounts without his knowledge.
The IFSO reported that the seized wallet belonged to Mohammad Naseer Ibrahim Abdullah. Another wallet, in which cryptocurrencies have been transferred belonged to Ahmed QH Safi from Ramallah in Palestine. According to reports, some of the stolen cryptocurrencies was transferred to a UK-based gambling site and a child pornography site.
With the increasing crypto adoption, such crime cases are also on the rise. For instance, this month another crypto fraud was reported in South Africa related to the ‘Brother Vanish’ Incident. The infamous Africypt platform founder brothers vanished with $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin in the incident.
