Sept. 15 (UPI) — Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced Monday the seizure of 187 cryptocurrency wallets that have received $1.5 billion. Israel says the wallets are linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which has been designated as a terrorist group.
While $1.5 billion moved through the wallets over time, they currently hold $1.5 million, according to a document, detailing the seizure order and freezing the wallets from making any future transactions.
“Pursuant to my authority according to section 56b of the Anti-Terrorism Law 5776 — 2016 and having been convinced that the cryptocurrency wallets specified in the list are property of the designated terrorist organization Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, or property used for the perpetration of a severe terror crime as defined by the law, I hereby order the seizure of the property,” Israel Katz, minister of defense, wrote in the Administrative Seizure Order.
Israel, the European Union and the United States are among a number of countries that have sanctioned the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Blockchain monitoring firm Elliptic said it cannot confirm whether the wallets do belong to the IRGC.
“Some of the addresses may be controlled by cryptocurrency services and could be part of wallet infrastructure used to facilitate transactions for many customers,” Elliptic said in a blog post.
This is not the first time the IRGC has been linked to the use of cryptocurrency.
In June, more than $90 million was allegedly stolen from the Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex by a pro-Israel group. Elliptic has linked Nobitex to the IRGC.
Last December, the U.S. Treasury Department added cryptocurrency addresses, which had received $332 million, to its sanctions lists.
And on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had seized $584,741 from Iranian national Mohammad Abedini, who runs a navigation systems business used by IRGC’s military drone program.
“There were always rumors that IRGC was using cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions,” said Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at the Iran-focused nonprofit Miaan Group.
“Many of these cases might, for example, involve exchanges that are not directly part of the IRGC but are connected to it, similar to many banks, financial and credit institutions, or even companies that appear to be private.”